Build Passive Income with Real Estate
Who says you need to work until you’re 65?
A Passive Income Blog for the Obsessed
Want to work forever?
We certainly don’t. Which is why we’re so obsessed with passive income. And while we love stocks, our true passion is passive real estate investing.
My name is Brian Davis, and I’m a passive real estate investor, personal finance writer, co-founder of SparkRental, and world traveler. I get to spend most of the year living abroad hiking, scuba diving, wine tasting, and breaking toes trying to learn how to surf.
Deni (my partner) and I have a simple goal: to help 5,000 people reach $5,000/month in passive real estate income. Want to be one of them? To start stacking up streams of passive income? To reach financial independence and retire early with rental properties or real estate syndications?
We created this real estate investing blog to help you stop relying so heavily on your 9-5 salary and start living more intentionally. Welcome!
The Latest from Our Real Estate Investing Blog
Best Real Estate Podcasts: Invest Smart
The Big Picture On The Best Real Estate Investing Podcasts: Podcasts are a convenient and free way to gain knowledge and stay updated on real estate trends, making it easy for investors to learn while multitasking. These top podcasts provide valuable education on real...
Free Property Depreciation Calculator | How Is Rental Property Depreciation Calculated?
The Big Picture On Calculating Rental Property Depreciation: Rental property depreciation is calculated based on the building's cost basis (purchase price minus land value), divided over 27.5 years. This allows property owners to deduct a portion of the property's...
Best Real Estate Blogs Today: Learn to Invest in Real Estate for Free
The Big Picture On The Best Real Estate Investing Blogs: Real estate blogs can be an excellent source of information about the industry. These blogs cover various topics, including property management, market trends, and investment strategies. Many blogs offer expert...
DSCR Loan Pros and Cons For Successful Real Estate Investing
The Big Picture On DSCR Loan Pros and Cons: DSCR loans focus on the rental property’s income rather than the borrower’s income, making them ideal for self-employed investors or those with multiple properties. DSCR loans offer advantages like faster approval processes,...
Kiddie Condo Loans: How to Use the FHA to Buy Rental Properties with 3.5% Down
The Big Picture On FHA's Kiddie Condo Loans: The FHA "Kiddie Condo" loans program allows for a down payment as low as 3.5%, making it an affordable option for parents co-signing a mortgage with their adult children. Parents can buy a property with their child, who...
Alternative Housing & Green Housing: How to Save Money & Travel
The Big Picture On Alternative Housing: Various non-traditional housing alternatives like tiny houses, RV living, and house hacking with accessory dwelling units (ADUs) can help you save money and embrace a more flexible lifestyle. Many of the alternative housing...
How Much Can a Landlord Charge for Cleaning? Rules for Tenant Cleaning Fees
The Big Picture On How Much Can A Landlord Charge For Cleaning: Landlords can typically charge between $150 and $600 for cleaning, equating to an hourly rate of $50 to $100, depending on factors like unit size, tenant duration, and cleaning requirements. Landlords...
IRR Calculator Online: Calculate Internal Rate of Return in Real Estate
The Big Picture on Our Online Real Estate IRR Calculator: Internal rate of return (IRR) measures the annual growth rate of an investment, considering both cash flow and capital gains over the holding period. Real estate investors use IRR to compare multi-year...
Cash-on-Cash Return Calculator: What Is Cash-on-Cash Return in Real Estate?
The Big Picture On Cash-On-Cash Return: Cash-on-cash return measures the annual yield on your cash investment, accounting for down payment, closing costs, and out-of-pocket repairs. The formula for cash-on-cash return is net annual cash flow divided by initial...
How to Invest in Real Estate: 15 Strategies for Real Estate Investing
The Big Picture on Real Estate Investing Strategies: Real estate investment strategies vary widely, from residential rental properties to commercial real estate and raw land, each with unique benefits and challenges. Proper due diligence, including understanding local...
What’s the 4% Rule in Retirement? Safe Withdrawal Rate in Retirement Calculator
The Big Picture On Safe Withdrawal Rates In Retirement (With Calculator): A safe withdrawal rate is the annual percentage of retirement savings you can withdraw without exhausting your funds, typically considered to be around 4%. Various methods to calculate a safe...
How to Start an Airbnb: 14 Tips for Fast Success
The Big Picture on How To Start A Successful Airbnb: Understanding local laws is crucial before listing your property on Airbnb, as many cities have strict regulations and taxes on short-term rentals. Price your Airbnb competitively against local hotels, not other...
The “Live Off Rents” Podcast
Prefer to watch or listen to your real estate investing and FIRE tips & tricks? No sweat.
Deni and Brian have been broadcasting live every week to the SparkRental-sponsored Facebook groups since 2017, and started releasing the content via podcast in 2020. Each episode is quick, 15-20 minutes, but jam-packed with actionable content.
No fluff, just advice you can put to work immediately to build passive income from real estate.
If you enjoy the episodes, share them, and please rate and review on iTunes or wherever else you listen!
Recent Episodes
Beyond Education: Group Real Estate Investment Club
Learning is wonderful, and we offer nearly endless free education content for real estate investors. But nothing beats getting in the trenches and actually investing to earn real returns.
At your request, we created a real estate investment club that lets you “earn while you learn” with a club of other investors. Every month, we meet on a video call to vet a new passive real estate investment. These group real estate investments range from private parnetships to private notes to real estate syndications and funds for fractional ownership in an apartment complex, self-storage facility, retail or other large property. You get all the benefits of real estate investing, from cash flow to appreciation to tax benefits, without the headaches of buying properties yourself.
Best of all, you can invest with a lot less money. Rather than the $50,000 – $100,000 needed for a typical private equity real estate investment or rental property down payment, you can invest with $5,000 per deal.
Oh, and non-accredited investors are welcome on all deals. We intentionally propose inclusive deals open to all investors.
Who Is this Real Estate Investing Blog For?
Well, sure, it’s for aspiring and active investors and landlords. We write about the nuts and bolts of investing passively in real estate syndications or actively in rental properties. We cover topics ranging from real estate crowdfunding to tax benefits, tenant screening to collecting rents, single-family to multifamily to self-storage and beyond.
But while the “how-tos” and “avoid these mistakes” are important, they’re only part of the picture.
The bigger picture? How real estate investing fits into your larger strategy for building wealth and passive income.
Specifically: reaching financial independence to give you the freedom to retire early, if you so choose. Or to supplement your current lifestyle so you can live better or switch to your dream work.
So who is this “real estate investing blog” for? It’s not just for passive real estate investors or active landlords — it’s for anyone looking for creative ways to reach FIRE through real estate investing.
Real Estate Investing & Landlord Education
Our real estate investing blog includes hundreds of articles personal finance articles, property management tips, and detailed real estate investing advice. Browse it, search it, use it as a free resource.
But our landlord education doesn’t end with the blog.
We offer a range of free webinars and online masterclasses for real estate investors. We offer a premium course called FIRE from Real Estate, to help you reach financial independence and retire early in years rather than decades. Our weekly newsletter keeps you abreast of rental industry trends, landlord tips, and the best of real estate investing blogs from around the web. And every week, Deni & Brian hop on live video on Facebook for a 15-minute live vlog and answer questions.
What for? Why do real estate investors and landlords need continuing education, anyway?
Because investing in rental properties is not like throwing money in an index fund.
Buying real estate investment properties takes skill (at least if you want to make money). Managing rental properties takes skill.
Your returns on rental investment properties are directly proportionate to your knowledge and skill, both as an investor and as a landlord. If you want to reach financial independence from real estate, you’re going to need to know what you’re doing.
That’s why we’re obsessed with ongoing real estate education at SparkRental. We want you to make as much passive income as possible, as fast as possible, on the fewest real estate investments possible.
More Resources for Investors
Had enough of us going on about the importance of real estate investing education?
“Cut to the goods already Brian! Gimme some free stuff!”
All right, all right. Here are some free real estate investing resources, to help you on your quest for financial independence from real estate:
Real Estate Investing Calculators
Real estate investing involves math. But it doesn’t have to be hard math. Use our free rental income calculator, house hacking calculator, property depreciation calculator and more to get ahead in the game of life.
Interactive Real Estate Maps
It’s a big country, with thousands of towns you could invest in. Where should you invest? Why? Check out our interactive maps of the hottest housing markets, cooling real estate markets, best cities for real estate investing by price/rent ratio, and more.
Real Estate Crowdfunding Comparison
Wondered whether real estate crowdfunding investments are worth considering? The answer: some are, others aren’t. But which are worth it? Check out our comparison of real estate crowdfunding platforms — and which we invest in ourselves.
Landlord Software & Mobile App
Use our free landlord software to screen tenants, collect rent online, and automate your rental accounting. Sync your bank account, automatically label income and expenses, and use one-click Schedule E tax statements.
Want more free landlord resources? Check out our list of Free Real Estate Investing Tools.
