BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

Are “tenant-friendly” states actually making investors richer? Ever since we started investing, people have always told us to invest in “landlord-friendly” states—places with quicker eviction laws, no or limited rent control, and fewer license requirements and fees. But most Americans will know that the top-appreciating markets like California, New York, Washington, and Hawaii are tenant-friendly....

5 paid-off rentals vs. 15 rentals with mortgages. We get this question a lot: Should I pay off my rental properties or use the ⁠cash flow⁠ to keep scaling? Many investors believe you need a dozen or more rentals to become financially free. So, in today’s show, we’re going to show you the overlooked math behind having five paid-off ⁠rental properties⁠, and whether it’s worth it to keep scaling to o...

5 paid-off rentals vs. 15 rentals with mortgages. We get this question a lot: Should I pay off my rental properties or use the cash flow to keep scaling? Many investors believe you need a dozen or more rentals to become financially free. So, in today’s show, we’re going to show you the overlooked math behind having five paid-off rental properties, and whether it’s worth it to keep scaling to over...

Most Americans are worried about money. Paying the bills, having enough for retirement, and being able to afford emergency expenses. And, like many of us, you may have grown up in a household watching your own parents constantly worry or fight over finances. This is one of the crucial anxiety points of Americans—and rentals can change that. Today, Joel Larsgaard from the How to Money podcast share...

Brett Hundley doesn’t want an employer or a nine-to-five job. Ever. At just 32 years old, he has already retired from one career and is now chasing the freedom and flexibility that real estate investing can provide. During his eight years as an NFL quarterback, Brett spent evenings after practice learning the ins and outs of real estate from teammates who had already discovered its wealth-building...

If you want to generate passive income with rental properties, reach financial freedom, and make the most money with the least stress, do not do any of these six things. There are six ways to fail at real estate investing in 2026, and if you get even a couple of these wrong on your first or next deal, you could be out of the game for years to come.  Trust us, we’re now dealing with five-figure eme...

Struggling to find cash flow these days? You’re not the only one. Today’s guest built a portfolio of 50 rental properties before margins started getting thin, but one giant pivot changed everything—a pure cash flow play to complement the appreciation and tax benefits from his rentals. If you want cash flow, he’ll show you exactly where to find it! Today, Devon Kennard makes 12%-14% returns with an...

At 20 years old, Jefferson Simmons was kicked out of his frat house. The entire property was getting remodeled, so he and 47 other college kids needed a place to live. Time to rent…right? After being discouraged by the rentals in his area, he switched his Zillow tab from “Rent” to “Buy” and saw a $250K house for sale. He was a sophomore in college. Could he really buy his first house? Thankfully,...

This is the worst real estate investing advice I’ve ever heard—and I KEEP hearing it. If you go on to any “real estate investing” TikTok page, they say the same thing: use other people’s money, wait for the crash, interest rates will go down…and that’s not even the worst of the advice. This type of real estate advice will make investors broke, put them in riskier positions, and stop them from reti...

By buying just One Rental at a Time, Michael Zuber was able to replace his entire W-2 income, scale from one rental to four, then to over 80 rental units, go from paycheck to paycheck to becoming a real estate millionaire, and survive the Dot Com bubble, the 2008 crash, and the post-pandemic meltdown. And in today's show, Michael has two things to say: First, the average American won’t make it wit...

In 2021, Jesse Walters bought his first rental unit. Now, in 2026, he’s got a portfolio of around 30 rentals composed of small, affordable (mostly) multifamily properties that he’s getting killer returns on. Jesse did it even when mortgage rates were at 8%, even when home prices were flying up and subsequently correcting back down, and even when he didn’t know where he’d find the money to do it. ...

The Iran War is already changing the housing market. Home sales have slowed, mortgage rates jumped back up, a reversal in crucial housing affordability is well underway—and we’re not done yet. Oil prices are causing interest rates to fly upward, and guess what? Gas prices might not go down for another year. Is this the nail in the coffin for the return to a healthy housing market? We’re getting in...

This is not 2008 all over again…but the discounts are looking similar. A “slow unwinding” is beginning. Ken McElroy, a multi-decade real estate investor, owner of 10,000 rental units, and one of the biggest names in real estate, is seeing discounts…big discounts. Certain investment properties are being offered to him at 80% off peak prices, and, in his own words, the “blood in the streets” is beco...

After having her second daughter, high school math teacher Christle Stezskal had a choice to make—keep working for little pay and give up the time she had with her young children, or find another way to help provide for them. Her husband had just finished the personal finance classic, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and knew rentals were the right move—but Christle was only working with a teacher’s salary.  Sh...

What happened to real estate investing?  From 2010 until 2022 everyone wanted to buy real estate. Fortunes were being made, cash flow was plentiful in many markets, and real estate seemed to only go up…until it didn’t. Now influencers are saying “real estate is dead,” some investors have given up on financial freedom, and many are taking a pause. But, if you ask any American if home prices will go...

We’re selling off rental properties. Nope, that’s not clickbait; we’re actually getting rid of cash-flowing rental properties from our real estate portfolios. But why? And why now? Is there a market crash we fear is coming? Do we think this is the peak of real estate? Have we finally decided to listen to the social media doomers who keep telling us it’s another 2008? Not quite. Instead, our reason...

Five years ago, Martin Castro-Silva was working at a bank, earning $80,000 per year. Not a bad gig, but one thing was eating at him—he was missing the moments with his two kids, three and one years old at the time. It wasn’t until Martin picked up a pattern that everything changed—all his wealthy clients at the bank were in real estate, and one was willing to show him the ropes. So, using the limi...

This is the most boring way to get rich with rentals. It’s not flashy, it’s not sexy, but it works—and it doesn’t even take that long to pull off. You don’t need to have hundreds of thousands of dollars saved up, investing experience, or dozens of rental properties. In fact, you can build over a million dollars in wealth with just four to five properties: no big apartment complexes, no complicated...

Few investors have gotten the real estate market as right as Brian Burke. He bought heavily discounted deals after 2008, sold at the post-2020 peak, waited years to buy, and finally just made his next big move—taking down a profitable, large investment property for 50%+ off. If he’s finally getting back into the market, should you, too? Brian has owned thousands of rental units across dozens of ap...

Six figures in cash flow per year from nine paid-off properties. That’s the definition of a small, powerful, profitable rental property portfolio. And today’s guest, Greg Roedersheimer, did it all within the last five years by buying the type of property every tenant truly wants. Back in 2007, Greg’s agent told him it was time to buy. Little did he know that in just a year, he would be unable to s...

If you’re scared about the economy, you need to hear this.  You probably either invest in real estate or want to, but nothing seems stable. Wars have begun. Gas prices are rising. Mortgage rates just went back up. It feels like things are getting more unstable by the day, and the average American is struggling to get by. This is a transitionary time in the economy, and we’re making proactive moves...

This investor makes six figures in profit without putting a single dollar into her real estate deals. Using a new real estate investing “model,” Chauncey Pham has cracked the code to make as much profit as possible from a single property. It’s so genius, we’re surprised no one has come up with it before, but today we’re sharing it with you. Chauncey has always been good at sales—clearly, when she...

15 years ago, Matt McCurdy had everything—a good corporate job, a great degree, and a path to a comfortable retirement…in 30 years. The problem? Matt didn’t want to wait 30 years to live the life he envisioned, and spending three more decades on the “corporate treadmill” was looking increasingly bleak as the days passed. But within just five years, Matt escaped the cubicle life, replaced his incom...

The “Great Stall” is on. Home prices are stagnating or falling, and the hot markets are slowing down. Now, 40% of the U.S. housing market is in decline. This is exactly what we were waiting for. But new risks to the real estate market could flip this “stall” into something more serious. War. Spiking oil prices. A white-collar recession. What happens now? We’re back with March’s housing market upda...

In just around five years, these two investors went from zero rentals to financial freedom through real estate. In their own words, “I want as few doors as possible with as much money as possible.” That’s what we’re all after as real estate investors. How can we generate the most passive income with the fewest properties, headaches, and issues to deal with? A little over five years ago, Amelia McG...