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
Quotes for Financial Freedom to Keep You on Track for FI
When you can cover your living expenses with passive income from investments, working becomes optional. Turns out there’s a term for that: financial freedom, also known as financial independence. In other words, freedom from the daily job to make ends meet, freedom...
How Rental Income Is Taxed
Real estate investments can offer some huge tax breaks — if used wisely. In fact, some investors opt for real estate specifically for the tax breaks! But how is rental income taxed? What other taxes do landlords and real estate investors pay? How can you avoid the...
How Steve Reached Financial Freedom with Real Estate Syndications
“A young man came to my office, asking to work for me. He said ‘I’ll work for free — just give me something to do.’ Immediately, I noticed his work ethic, his intelligence, passion and that he was driven; I hired him. “After a few months of working around the office,...
How to Drive Up Market Rents for Your Properties
When you run the numbers for a prospective rental property and compare it to similar properties in the area you'll find opportunities. You may be able to improve your profit margin, either through charging higher rents or reducing ongoing costs for maintenance and...
Free Loan Calculator With Amortization Schedule
Take one look at an amortization schedule and you discover that “simple interest amortization” is a misnomer. Still, it’s not rocket science either. An amortization table shows you how quickly you’ll pay down your loan balance over the course of your loan term. And...
How Many Rental Properties Does It Take to Retire Early?
Rental properties are a great way to fund some or all of your retirement. They produce steady, predictable income without eating into your principal. And they have many tax advantages and other benefits for retirement. But before you embark on a multi-year real estate...
What Is Credit Repair & How Do You Do It?
Are credit score woes keeping you down? If you have a lower score, it could be stopping you from getting a loan or the rental unit you really want. And while it's possible to get an investment property loan with bad credit, it's much harder and costs you more. The...
Where Are Housing Starts Declining? (Interactive Map)
After building permits for new single-family homes reached its highest pace since 2005 last year, new home starts appear to be slowing. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic interrupting the majority of industries across the globe, home building witnessed a boom not seen...
How Much Do Different Types of Flooring Cost?
It seems like landlords need new flooring between every single tenancy. So what flooring options are available, how much do they cost, and how does new flooring affects your property value? Whether repairing flooring that has seen better days or sprucing up your...
Is It Too Late To Invest in Real Estate? (The 2-Minute Drill of Life)
A few years ago I was talking to a real estate coaching client who was extremely anxious about his finances. The details have been changed for his privacy, but let’s call him James. James was in his late 50s, and he felt like time was working against him. A series of...
How Dandan Zhu Became a Millennial Millionaire with Real Estate
Before turning 30, Dandan Zhu reached financial independence and quit her day job. She still does some recruiting work and real estate investing on her own terms — but why stop when you love what you do? Zhu scaled her real estate portfolio quickly through aggressive...
Why Rural Investment Properties Outperform Urban Real Estate
Ever considered investing in rural real estate? Most real estate investors haven’t. Which is precisely why rural properties offer so many advantages compared to their urban counterparts. Consider the following reasons to invest in rural properties, rather than...
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.
