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
Should Landlords Rent to College Students? Student Housing 101
The Big Picture On Should You Rent To College Students: Renting properties to college students near universities is an attractive real estate investment. Advantages of renting to college students include higher potential income, higher occupancy rates, co-signer...
How to Invest in Real Estate with a Self-Directed IRA: Case Study
The Big Picture On How To Invest In Real Estate With Self-Directed IRA: You can invest in almost any type of real estate by opening a self-directed IRA with a custodian. It's much easier to invest in passive real estate investments (such as real estate syndications or...
How to Become a Landlord: Blueprint to Buy Your First Rental Property
The Big Picture On How To Become A Landlord: Rental properties can generate cash flow, appreciation, and tax benefits, but being a landlord requires some labor and expertise. If you just want to diversify into real estate and earn passive income, consider passive real...
How to Build Credit Fast: The Real Estate Investor’s Guide to Credit
The Big Picture On How To Build Credit Fast: Regularly check credit reports for errors to ensure accuracy and taking steps to correct any discrepancies found. Effectively utilize your credit cards by maintaining low balances relative to credit limits and paying bills...
Fair Housing Pitfalls: 6 Ways to Avoid Being the Next Lawsuit
The Big Picture On How To Avoid A Fair Housing Lawsuit: The Fair Housing Act is a federal law that provides protection against discrimination from several groups. Some states also have laws that are similar to the FHA and extend the protection to other classes or...
How to Buy a Foreclosure Home: Pros, Cons, & Process from Start to Finish
The Big Picture On How To Buy A Foreclosure Home: Buying a foreclosed home can provide significant savings compared to market prices, offering opportunities for both homebuyers and investors to purchase properties at a discount. Thorough research and due diligence is...
Do You Have to Put a Down Payment on a House? Down Payment Hacks
The Big Picture On Down Payment For House Purchases: Down payments are historically used to mitigate risk for both the buyer and lender. A big enough down payment helps minimize interest rates, monthly payments, and the total mortgage. Not everyone has money to burn...
10 Alternative Real Estate Exit Strategies All Investors Should Know
The Big Picture On Exit Strategies For Real Estate Investors: Despite attractive yields and relatively low risks, real estate investment don't always pan out the way you want to. That's why it's important to have an exit strategy in place. Common real estate exit...
Creative Ways to Invest in Real Estate With Little Money
The Big Picture On Creative Ways To Invest In Real Estate With Little To No Money. Real estate presents a great investment opportunity—and it doesn't even have to drain your savings. Common creative financing strategies include house hacking, live-in flips, seller...
Who Pays Which Closing Costs on Real Estate?
The Big Picture On Who Pays Which Closing Costs On Real Estate: As the name suggests, closing costs are fees that are paid to close a real estate transaction. There are several types of closing costs, like appraisal, loan origination, inspection, survey, and escrow...
What Landlords Need To Know About Emotional Support Animals And The Fair Housing Act
The Big Picture On Emotional Support Animals And Fair Housing Law For Landlords: Landlords must accommodate Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) under the Fair Housing Act, setting them apart from typical pets. ESAs differ from service animals because they do not require...
Building Equity: 10 Ways to Create Real Estate Equity Faster
The Big Picture On Building Real Estate Equity Faster: Focusing on renovations that maximize return on investment, like cosmetic upgrades or essential improvements is an excellent way to create real estate value and equity. Increase value and generate extra income by...
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
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.
Beyond Education: Group Real Estate Investments Club
Learning is wonderful, and we offer nearly endless free education content for real estate investors and landlords. 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 full of other investors. Every month, we propose a new passive real estate investment. These group real estate investments — also known as real estate syndications — let you buy 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 $50-100K needed for a typical real estate syndication 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.
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.
Beyond the Real Estate Blog: 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.
