Replace Your Salary with Rental Income
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 landlord, 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
Lofty Review: Fractional Ownership of Rentals with Full Liquidity?
There’s a lot to like about the Lofty real estate crowdfunding platform. You can buy fractional shares in investment properties for just $50 apiece, collect daily rental income, and sell those shares whenever you want. But their secondary market for buying and selling...
Arrived Review: Fractional Ownership in Rental Properties for $100
As someone who teaches people how to invest in rental properties, should I be worried about how easy Arrived makes it to invest without any knowledge or skill? Arrived (formerly Arrived Homes) is a real estate crowdfunding platform that lets you buy fractional shares...
What Are 4-Point Inspections in Real Estate, and Why Do Them?
When buying a new property, it pays to know what four-point inspections are and why they’re important. A 4-point inspection is an assessment conducted by a qualified professional and it’s an integral part of the real estate process. This assessment looks at the four...
Fundrise Review 2023: An Easy Way to Diversify Your Portfolio?
Despite being a real estate investor and landlord myself, I love real estate crowdfunding platforms. You can take $10 and invest it in dozens of different properties, rather than investing $100,000 in one property. It comes with a cost, of course. You don’t get the...
How to 1031 Exchange into Real Estate Syndications
Real estate syndications have exploded in popularity among investors seeking passive income, diversification, and higher yields than many traditional investments offer. But if you're a landlord looking to switch to passive syndication investing, can you avoid capital...
House Hacking: 14 Ways to Get Free Housing
I don’t pay a dime for housing. Before that, I only paid around 30% of my mortgage payment. How? By finding ways to have other people pay my housing costs. It’s called house hacking, and there are many ways to achieve it. Not all of them require you to move or buy a...
Groundfloor Review 2023: Short-Term Real Estate Investing with Strong Returns
Looking for a way to invest in real estate short-term, and wondering “Is Groundfloor legit?” Groundfloor offers a rare short-term real estate investment, letting you invest money toward hard money loans. These loans to real estate investors typically come with terms...
Heat Map: The Hottest Real Estate Markets in Q1 2023
The coronavirus pandemic saw many real estate markets leap upward. Some saw home prices jump over 50% in a single year! In early 2023, those days seem like a lifetime ago. While year-over-year home price growth still looks strong in many counties, the picture changes...
How Much Is It to Finish a Basement for an ADU?
When it comes to home improvement projects, finishing a basement can be vastly rewarding. Not only can it extend the livable space of a house, but it can be a great place to entertain company, house guests, and earn extra income as an accessory dwelling unit. So how...
What Is a Lien on Property? Understanding Real Estate Liens
Heard the term “real estate lien” thrown around, but not sure what a lien on property is? Liens can be general or specific, voluntary or involuntary. As the name suggests, a voluntary lien (such as a mortgage lien) is one you agree to. An involuntary lien (such as a...
Where’s the Cheapest Real Estate in the U.S.? Should You Buy It?
Not thrilled that the median U.S. home costs $357,319 at the start of 2023? Everyone loves a deal, a chance to get more for their money. Look no further than the hordes of stampeding shoppers every Black Friday. Fortunately for real estate investors, cheap real estate...
Declining Home Prices Mapped: 253 Cities with Falling Prices
Worried about declining home prices as a property owner? Or maybe excited about a fall in house prices as a real estate investor or homebuyer? Either way, the housing market looks far different today than it did even six months ago. Gone are the wild 50+% price jumps...
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 for years, although they only 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, Stitcher, or wherever else you listen!
Recent Episodes
Ep #128: Real Estate Side Hustles to Save Money Faster
Real estate investing take money. A lot of money. Fortunately, it also offers endless ways to make money. Deni breaks down some real estate side hustles to help you earn extra money while you save money to invest.Video Broadcast VersionAudio Podcast Version Also...
Ep. #127: What Are “Infinite Returns” on Real Estate & How Do Your Earn Them?
What's your return on investment if you invest $0 and then earn money on it? Mathematically, your returns are infinite. Brian breaks down exactly how to earn infinite returns in real estate, investing money in rental properties or real estate syndications and then...
Ep. #126: Should You “Buy the Dip” in Real Estate?
When real estate prices decline, should you "buy the dip"? While trying to time the market is an inherently bad idea, that doesn't mean there aren't more bargains available when housing markets cool. Brian and Deni talk through how to responsibly pick up more...
Ep. #125: The Gift Of Time: Make Your Job Optional With Passive Income
Time is the only nonrenewable resource you have. So how do you regain control over your time? It turns out time freedom and financial freedom share the same roots: in building passive income so you depend less on your full-time job. Brian and Deni explain not only how...
Ep. #124: Danaus Chang On Disrupting Real Estate Investment
Curious how to build a property portfolio from nothing? Or how you can use technology to get a leg up in real estate investing? Danaus born and raised in Fort Worth, TX by his parents who immigrated from China to live their American dream of owning real estate....
Ep. #123: Patrick Grimes on Asset Protection, SDIRAs, & Advanced Real Estate Investing
As the founder and CEO of Invest on Main Street, Patrick Grimes has been around the proverbial block. He has over fourteen years of experience in active real estate investment, purchasing distressed assets, renovating, and stabilizing for long-term cash flow. His...
Who Is the Passive Investing Blog For?
Well, sure, this is a real estate investing and landlord blog. We write about the nuts and bolts of investing in rental properties, tenant screening, leasing issues, collecting rent, managing difficult tenants, and so on.
But while the “how-tos” and “avoid these mistakes” are important, they’re only part of the picture.
The bigger picture? How rental properties and real estate investing fit into your larger strategy for building wealth and passive income.
Specifically: reaching financial independence to give you the freedom to retire young, if you so choose.
So who is this “landlord blog” for? It’s not just for 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 landlord 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 landlords and real estate investors. We offer several premium landlord courses. 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’re going 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 landlord education at SparkRental. We want you to make as much passive income as possible, as fast as possible, on the fewest rental investments possible.
Beyond the Real Estate Blog: More Landlord Resources
Had enough of us going on about the importance of landlord education?
“Cut to the goods already Brian! Gimme some free stuff!”
All right, all right. Here are some free landlord resources, to help you on your quest for financial independence from real estate:
Free Rental Application
Email our free rental application PDF to your prospects; they can type into it, e-sign it, and email it back to you. It even includes authorization for you to contact employers, prior landlords, and run tenant screening reports.
Tenant Screening Reports
Well, it’s free for the landlord. The applicant verifies their identity and releases their credit report, criminal background check, and eviction history tenant screening reports to you. No site inspection required!
State-Specific Lease Agreements
Our rental lease agreements are extremely landlord-protective, and deter any lawsuit-happy tenants. They’re editable, reusable, and include all state-specific lease clauses, disclosures, and addenda.
Online Rent Collection
Collect rent online, through either ACH (bank transfer), credit card, or debit card. Reduce late payments and rent defaults, and use one-click Schedule E tax statements and Income & Expense reports!
Want more free landlord resources? Check out our list of Free Landlord Tools.
