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
How Real Estate Investors Can Protect Against Future Eviction Moratoriums
In the last eviction moratorium, some U.S. landlords couldn’t evict non-paying tenants for over two years. That is all but legalized theft. It’s like someone renting a car from Hertz without a credit card, then driving off on a two-year joy ride without paying. First,...
States with Population Growth: State Net Migration & Taxes Comparison
Quick Bites: A state's total "tax burden" includes income tax, property taxes, and sales and excise taxes. There is a correlation between state tax burdens and migration patterns — but it's not a perfect one. Other factors such as real estate affordability and climate...
10 Rental Property Financing Ideas from Professional Real Estate Investors
Leverage. It’s one of the great advantages of real estate over other types of investments. You can finance 80%, 90%, even 100% of your investment. Ever tried doing that with stocks? Good luck finding a lender. The best you can do is buy stocks on margin, and that’s a...
What Is a Landlord Insurance Policy & How Much Coverage Do I Need?
Just like homeowners, landlords need property insurance coverage. Too little coverage leaves you exposed to losses when and if your property suffers damage. But too much landlord insurance coverage is an unnecessary expense each month. Which means you need to strike...
Dollar Cost Average Calculator: How to Use It For Real Estate
The Big Picture On Using A Dollar Cost Average Calculator: Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) involves investing a fixed amount regularly, regardless of market conditions, to mitigate the risks of market volatility. While commonly associated with stocks, DCA can also be...
Passive Income Types: The Best Sources of Passive Income
The Big Picture On Types Of Passive Income Passive income sources like rental properties, stock dividends, and royalties can provide financial stability but often require initial investment and strategic planning to ensure sustainability. Different types of passive...
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...
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...
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...
Lower Mortgage Rates: 8 Creative Ways to Finance Properties While Rates Are High
High interest rates and a nationwide housing shortage make for a tough combination for homebuyers and investors alike. So, what creative financing options do you have while interest rates for investment properties and home loans keep soaring? Creative Financing...
Savings Rate: How Much of Your Paycheck Should You Save to Retire Early?
No matter how much you earn, you won’t build wealth if you spend every penny you bring in. A person who earns $75,000 and saves $25,000 per year will create wealth faster than someone who earns $1,000,000 and spends $995,000 of it. Flashy cars and imposing homes may...
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.
