BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

Join the Future of Real Estate Investing with Fundrise

Get Fast, Affordable Landlord Insurance with Steadily

Save $100 on Real Estate’s Biggest Event of the Year, BPCon2025

Grab the Book “The Self-Managing Landlord”

Property Manager Finder

78 Questions To Ask A Property Manager Before Hiring Them

Connect with Selali

(00:00) Intro

(01:56) Becoming a Property Manager

(06:12) Picking a Property Manager

(11:09) Local vs. National Property Managers

(18:58) Best Managers Do This

(24:56) How to Self-Manage

(27:11) Know Your Property’s “Why”

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1094

Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email advertise@biggerpockets.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Financial Freedom in 11 Years Thanks to This “Perfect” Rental Strategy Mar 10, 2025

Show notes

Imagine getting paid to buy rental properties. Well, it’s more than possible, and today’s investor proves it. After spending months looking for the “perfect BRRRR” property, Jon Kessler stumbled upon it and, through a series of fortunate events, got paid $50,000 to buy a cash-flowing rental property. And guess what? This wasn’t a one-time occurrence. Jon repeated this strategy multiple times to build his real estate portfolio with little money and reach financial freedom in just 11 years!

So what is the “perfect BRRRR” strategy, and how can you repeat it to get paid at the closing table, just like Jon? Today, Jon is walking us through his decade-long real estate investing journey, starting with being tens of thousands of dollars underwater on his home in 2008 to getting paid to buy rental properties, building an off-market lead business, and eventually getting to his true goal: financial freedom and truly passive income.

Jon faced a LOT of ups and downs. He started with zero investing experience, had non-paying tenants, a home with negative equity, and built his real estate portfolio all while working a full-time job and raising kids. Think you can’t invest in real estate in your situation? Jon will prove you couldn’t be more wrong!

In This Episode We Cover:

The “perfect BRRRR” investing strategy that pays YOU to buy rentals

Financial freedom in just a decade and why it’s still more than possible

Why you should turn your primary residence into a rental property when you move out

Working with wholesalers and how to score super underpriced real estate deals

How Jon finds his off-market real estate deals and the method he uses to contact motivated sellers

100% passive income and what Jon is investing in now for more time freedom

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Join the Future of Real Estate Investing with Fundrise

PassivePockets

Maximize Your Real Estate Investing with a Self-Directed IRA from Equity Trust

Grab the BRRRR Book

BiggerPockets Real Estate 1072 - How to Make More Passive Income with Fewer Rentals (& ACTUALLY Retire Early)

Connect with Jon

(00:00) Intro

(01:55) "Accidental” Landlord

(04:59) Buying His First True Rental

(08:05) Finding the BRRRR Method

(12:28) Getting Paid to Buy Rentals

(18:09) SUPER Underpriced Homes

(21:36) Finding Off-Market Deals

(25:06) Shifting to “Passive” Income

(29:00) 100% Passive Investing

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1093

Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email advertise@biggerpockets.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Overlooked “Upside” That Will Make Future Landlords Rich Mar 07, 2025

Show notes

Your rental properties are about to make even more money. There’s one often overlooked real estate investing “upside” that, over time, makes rental property investors and landlords rich without any extra effort. This is one upside that Dave is exceptionally bullish on and is one of the most compelling cases for rental property investing. It’s not home price growth, it’s not tax benefits, and it’s not zoning changes—it’s simple: rent price growth.

Rent has steadily grown throughout the history of the housing market and shot up at an extreme pace during 2020 - 2022. Now, the pendulum is swinging in the other direction as rents soften and tons of supply hit the market. But how far are we from going back to the days of solid rent growth? And with the new housing supply already starting to be absorbed, could we get to above-average rent growth again? We brought Chris Salviati from Apartment List on the show to share his team’s rent research.

Over time, your rental income will rise significantly while your mortgage payment stays the same, boosting your profits. So, where are rents poised to grow the most? Will we ever experience 2021-level rent growth again? And will 2025 be the year strong nationwide rent growth returns? We’re breaking it all down today so you know exactly where rents are headed next!

In This Episode We Cover:

Why “rent growth” is one of the most underrated “upsides” of real estate investing

The 2020-2022 rent price explosion explained and why rents skyrocketed

What has been keeping rent growth suppressed for the past few years

Markets with rent declines that could quickly reverse (significant buying opportunities)

The property classes (A/B/C/D) experiencing the most rental demand (it’s NOT the nicest ones!)

Multifamily vs. single-family rent trends and whether new apartments drive down home rent prices

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Join the Future of Real Estate Investing with Fundrise

Apartment List Research

Grab Dave’s Book, “Real Estate by the Numbers”

Rent Prices Are “Guaranteed” to Increase Over the Next Two Years—Here’s Why

Grab The Apartment List Research Or Email research@apartmentlist.com

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1092

Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email advertise@biggerpockets.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Mortgage Rates Fall Below 6%? Here’s What Could Trigger Low Rates Mar 06, 2025

Show notes

Mortgage rates have hit a new low for 2025, hovering around 6.75%, down from their peak of 7.25%. This is serious interest rate relief for homebuyers, real estate investors, and anyone getting a mortgage. But will mortgage rates fall even further in 2025? A new article from HousingWire’s Logan Mohtashami suggests that even more rate relief could be on the way, but not without a series of caveats.

To give our take, we’re bringing you a bonus episode where Dave breaks down Logan’s argument, gives his opinion on the hypotheses, and reveals what would have to happen for rates to drop into the low sixes, maybe even into the five percent range! With bond yields ticking down and recession fears mounting, mortgage rates seem poised to improve compared to the past couple of years.

Will we have to see economic pain before rates lower? Could rates go back up, even higher than before, if positive economic news emerges? Dave is breaking down both his own predictions and Logan’s in this bonus episode.

In This Episode We Cover:

Today’s mortgage rates and why we’re hitting 2025 lows

Two factors that influence mortgage rates and where they both stand now

The bond yield “spread” and how its improvement could keep rates low

What has to happen for rates to fall even more, and why it’s not all good news

Could mortgage rates get BELOW six percent in 2025?

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Do mortgage rates have room to drop lower?

Invest in Any Market Cycle with “Recession-Proof Real Estate Investing”

Find Investor-Friendly Lenders

Mortgage Rates Hit 2025 Low as Recession Fears Rise

Read Logan’s Article, “Do mortgage rates have room to drop lower?”

(00:00) Intro

(02:05) Why Mortgage Rates Are Falling

(03:18) Will Mortgage Rates Fall Further?

(05:49) What This Means for Investors

(07:02) The Mortgage-Bond "Spread"

(10:18) What Will Cause Lower Rates

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-bonus

Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email advertise@biggerpockets.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BRRRR for Beginners: How to Build Massive Wealth with This “Dead” Strategy Mar 05, 2025

Show notes

The BRRRR strategy is arguably the fastest way to build wealth with real estate. Just ask Leka Devatha, a Seattle-based investor. She’s got ONE BRRRR property this year that could make her $600,000 in profit. And that’s ONE home, not an apartment complex. So what is the BRRRR strategy, and why do so many investors write it off instead of trying it in 2025? Are they missing out? Absolutely!

BRRRR stands for buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. The basic formula is this: buy a house that needs some improvement, renovate the home (to a scale you’re comfortable with), rent out the home to tenants now that it’s fixed up, and refinance it. Now that the property is worth more, you may be able to get the bank to pay YOU back your initial down payment and renovation costs due to the increase in equity. Then…repeat until you’re financially free.

How do you pull off a BRRRR in 2025 with high interest rates, high home prices, and rising renovation costs? Dave and Leka are walking through their own BRRRR deals, showing you how to successfully BRRRR and do it without using ANY of your own money (seriously!).

In This Episode We Cover:

The BRRRR strategy explained and whether it still works in 2025

Leka’s BRRRR deals making her up to $600K!

The best property types for BRRRRing to get more cash flow, higher appreciation, and bigger returns

How to use other people’s money (OPM) to fund your BRRRR investments

The “DADU” strategy that could skyrocket your home price with one savvy addition

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Maximize Your Real Estate Investing with a Self-Directed IRA from Equity Trust

Save $100 on Real Estate’s Biggest Event of the Year, BPCon2025

Grab the BRRRR Book

Find Investor-Friendly Lenders

What is the BRRRR Method & How to Use it to Invest in Real Estate

Connect with Leka

(00:00) Intro

(03:42) BRRRR Strategy Explained

(05:38) How to Boost Home Value

(08:47) BRRRRing with No Money

(12:50) Using Other People’s Money

(15:39) Refinancing Your BRRRR

(18:39) Real 2025 BRRRR Examples

(23:03) Best BRRRR Property Types

(26:08) The Secret to Finding Deals

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1091

Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email advertise@biggerpockets.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scaling from 0 to 30 Deals (While Working 9-5) and Starting with $0 Mar 03, 2025

Show notes

30 real estate deals in two years, starting with very little money, AND doing it all while working a nine-to-five? After listening to Tim Yu, you’ll have no excuse NOT to invest in real estate. He’s done it all: house hacking, creative financing, seller financing, lease-to-own, single-family, multifamily, house flipping, and everything in between to find the real estate investing tactic that worked best for his goals and his lifestyle.

After trying (and failing) house flipping, Tim was ready to give up on real estate entirely. It wasn’t until a house hack (renting out other units/rooms in your home) gave Tim the cash flow he needed that he decided to give real estate another shot. From there, he spent hours calling owners after work, sweating bullets on cold calls, and refining his real estate skills.

He’s been able to buy a house for truly ZERO dollars down, pick up profitable rental properties for as little as $3,000, and get seller financing terms that have made him six figures in just a year or so. Tim has tried every strategy, so you don’t have to, and if one of his tactics resonates with you, be like Tim and give it your all!

In This Episode We Cover:

The one loan that lets you buy your first property for ZERO dollars down

How to get squatters out of your property (fast) with “cash for keys”

Using seller financing to pick up real estate deals for just $3,000-$5,000

Tim’s personalized strategy for finding off-market deals and motivated sellers

The new type of rental property Tim is buying that makes $3,000+/month in cash flow

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Get Fully Customizable Insurance Coverage for All Phases of Occupancy on One Monthly Schedule and Bill with NREIG

Grab the Book on Creative Finance, “Wealth without Cash”

Property Manager Finder

8 Rentals in UNDER 1 Year: A Rental Property Financing Masterclass

Connect with Tim

(00:00) Intro

(01:43) BAD First Real Estate Deal

(05:51) $0 Down Cash-Flowing Rental

(09:24) Seller Financing with LITTLE Money

(14:49) Finding Off-Market Deals

(24:08) Moving Markets

(31:38) New Type of Rentals?

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1090

Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email advertise@biggerpockets.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How I Turned $9,000 into My Dream Home By "Level-Up" Investing Feb 28, 2025

Show notes

Can you afford your “dream house” right now? The one with the pool and the ocean views, space for the kids to run around, and a huge pantry. The secret nobody will tell you: you CAN afford your dream house right now—or at least you can afford the investment that will get you there. Just ask James Dainard, who took a $175,000 hoarder condo and turned it into what would eventually become his $8,500,000 dream house. You can do the same using his level-up strategy.

James only started with $9,000, which turned into multiple millions over the next fifteen years. He would buy a house, fix it, and trade it up for a better one, repeating this strategy five times until he reached the goal: a 9,000-square-foot luxury home in one of the priciest markets in America, Scottsdale, Arizona.

He made millions of dollars completely tax-free because of this live-in flip strategy that ANYONE can use to massively multiply their wealth and take them to their dream home. And maybe you don’t want an $8,500,000 mansion—that’s fine! It only took James three house flips to get into “dream home territory,” and you can do the same!

In This Episode We Cover:

How to use the live-in flip strategy to make tax-free millions and buy your dream home

Why buying the worst house in the best neighborhood can make you rich

Why your primary residence IS an investment…if you use it the right way

The real estate tax cheat code that lets homeowners make $500K in tax-free profits

How to renovate a home even if you have zero flipping or construction experience

Why it’s crucial to find a spouse who’s DTF (down to flip)

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Apply to Be a Podcast Guest

James’ Live-in Flip Story!

Watch the Trailer for Million Dollar Zombie Flips!

Try REsimpli, The Only All-In-One Real Estate Investor CRM Software That Helps You Manage Data, Marketing, Sales, and Operations

Find Investor-friendly Tax and Financial Experts

Grab James’ New Book, “The House Flipping Framework”

Find Investor-Friendly Lenders

Is a Live In Flip Right for You? Here’s How to Tell

Connect with James

(00:00) Intro

(03:57) Best Investment? YOUR House!

(07:41) House 1 ($175K Condo)

(12:05) Pay NO Taxes on Profit!

(14:06) House 2 ($235K)

(19:09) House 3 ($890K)

(22:04) House 4 ($1.7M)

(26:22) Making $1.2M on ONE House!?

(28:10) House 5 ($8.5M Dream House!)

(31:44) Tips for 1st Live-in Flip

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1089

Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email advertise@biggerpockets.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

High-ROI “Value-Add” Renovations for Any Budget ($5K - $50K+) Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

Which rental renovations give you the biggest bang for your buck, turning a few thousand dollars of materials and labor into hundreds of more dollars of rent per month and tens of thousands more in home value? Today, we’re going through each tier of rental renovations: easy and cheap ($5,000 or under), moderately challenging and expensive ($25,000 - $50,000), and hard/pro-level ($50,000+). This will give you a roadmap of high-ROI rental renovations you can make right now to increase your property’s value and rent.

Why are these rental renovations (AKA value-add) so important right now? Because with so many investors and homebuyers sitting out of the market, you can take your pick of homes with overlooked potential and turn them into high-value investment properties. This not only makes tenants happier due to new renovations and upgrades but also gets you higher rents and wealth-building equity to boot.

We’ll start with some easy ones—painting, tiling, adding backsplashes, etc.—and work our way up to the pro-level renovations like adding square footage and turning a single-family home into a multifamily. Based on your experience, you can go either route, but both have enormous potential to turn your initial investment into a killer real estate deal.

In This Episode We Cover:

How to increase your property’s value (and rents) with high-ROI rental renovations

The easiest (and cheapest) upgrades to make that take little time

What to look for when buying a home for “value-add” and signs of money-making potential

The one appliance you should NEVER include in your rental property

The easy bathroom conversion that will massively boost your home’s equity

Pro-level rental renovations that could make you six-figures

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Apply to Be a Podcast Guest

Invest in High-ROI Turnkey Rentals with Rent to Retirement or Txt REI to 33777

Grab Henry’s New Book, “Real Estate Deal Maker”

The One Renovation Guaranteed to Increase ROI—No, It’s Not the Kitchen or Bathroom

Connect with Henry

(00:00) Intro

(03:53) $5,000 (or Less) Renovations

(12:06) Best Homes for Value-Add

(17:20) Worthless Renovations

(18:28) $25K - $50K Renovations

(20:21) Kitchen Renovation Worth It?

(24:33) BIG Renovations ($50K+)

(29:37) High Risk, High Reward Renovations

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1088

Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email advertise@biggerpockets.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Snowballing $20K into 10 Rentals by Doing What You (Probably) Won’t w/Gary Striewski Feb 24, 2025

Show notes

Would you sell your car, live without plumbing and electricity, and shower at the gym daily to build a rental portfolio? Now, would you do it while having one of the most prestigious jobs on the planet? If you said yes to both, you might as well be Gary Striewski, rental property investor, DIY home renovator, and, yes, host of SportsCenter.

Wait… the host of SportsCenter used a bucket as a bathroom while renovating? Yep, but he’s got a good reason for going through the struggle.

Working at SportsCenter has always been Gary’s dream job, but when 2020 hit, he knew he needed an alternative income stream. Real estate seemed like the obvious answer, but without much savings and only a car to his name he didn’t have many options to invest. So what did he do? Sold his car, downgraded significantly, and picked up a condo for $20,000 down.

Fast forward a few years—Gary has turned that first condo into a full real estate portfolio, including a private ski house that’s soon to be a short-term rental. He’s had evictions, DIY renovations where he lived without plumbing for months, and closings that didn’t go as planned, but with persistence and grit, he’s become an expert investor. Follow Gary’s tenacity, and you can, too!

In This Episode We Cover:

How Gary turned a $20,000 down payment into ten rental units and a real estate portfolio

Gary’s “value-add” renovation that 99% of people would never do themselves

A huge tenant mistake Gary made that will cost you if you repeat it

Why you should constantly evaluate selling your rentals, even if they’re performing well

Whether or not condos are worth it as starter real estate investments

Sports stars who (unsurprisingly) love real estate investing

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Apply to Be a Podcast Guest

Try REsimpli, The Only All-In-One Real Estate Investor CRM Software That Helps You Manage Data, Marketing, Sales, and Operations

Grab Dave’s Book, “Start with Strategy”

10 Hidden Ways to Buy Properties with Huge “Upside”

Connect with Gary

(00:00) Intro

(02:19) 1 Condo to 9 Rentals!

(04:06) Base Hit First Deal

(08:56) A Big Tenant Mistake

(12:48) $60K Profit in 1 Year!

(19:17) Living Without a Toilet for a Deal?

(25:24) First Short-Term Rental

(30:04) ANYONE Can Do This!

(32:33) They Invest in Real Estate, Too!?

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1087

Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email advertise@biggerpockets.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The BRRRR Formula Has Changed (It Still Makes You Rich) | AMA (Ask Meyer Anything) Feb 21, 2025

Show notes

Think the BRRRR method (buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat) is dead because of high interest rates and rising home prices? Think again. We’re doing BRRRR deals right now that are making us cash flow and serious equity while most investors sit on the sidelines. But how do we FIND these money-making BRRRR deals? We’re sharing the new BRRRR formula in today’s episode, along with more questions and answers from the BiggerPockets Forums.

Besides uncovering our BRRRR secrets, we’re helping an investor scale from single-family rentals to multifamily rentals. This is a BIG jump, and there’s a smarter way to scale your way up to big, new-build multifamily buildings. Next, an investor finally sees the light, realizing cash flow ISN’T everything. He’s about to walk into a nice chunk of equity with his new property, but is the cash flow TOO low (should he worry)?

What were you thinking about when you were 18? Maybe you were stressing out about college applications or sleeping in until noon. One ambitious young investor wants to get his first rental at just 18 years old, but on this rare occasion, we advise against it. If you’re in his position, too, we’d recommend doing something else first. Finally, are “small towns” too risky to invest in? How small is too small? We’re getting into it in this episode!

Looking to invest? Need answers? Ask your question on the BiggerPockets Forums!

In This Episode We Cover:

How to BRRRR in 2025 and how Henry finds his undervalued real estate deals

The pitfalls of scaling from single to multifamily rentals and how to do it the right way

Is a low cash flow rental worth it for a five-figure equity gain once purchased?

How to start investing in real estate at a very young age (18 years old!)

Investing in small towns and how to see where the big companies are going first

And So Much More!

Links from the Show