BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

Someone drove a car into Henry’s house. Yes, through his rental property.  For 99% of people reading this, that would put them in the hospital from stress. But Henry didn’t even need to lift a finger when this happened to him on vacation. Why? We’re about to tell you on this BiggerPockets Forum Q&A episode! You’ve got a few rental properties—maybe even a decent-sized portfolio—but you want to scal...

Ben Chester had no money. In fact, it was worse—he had $120,000 in debt. He was sleeping at work and renting out his own rented apartment just to survive in America’s most expensive market—New York City.  Now, six years later, he has eight rental properties, is debt-free, and even owns Billy Joel’s former residence (yes, you read that right). If you’re living in an expensive market and think it’s...

The realities of a housing market correction are setting in. This could be the turning point for real estate that investors (and homebuyers) have been waiting for. Are you ready? We’re back with our November housing market update, giving you the latest data on home prices, housing inventory, days on market, affordability, and where (and what) are the best opportunities for investors. Sellers are g...

You’ve bought a few rental properties…now what? Odds are, like most real estate investors, you’ve got a small portfolio, but you definitely don’t feel “rich” yet. When does the actual wealth start coming into play? If you’re in this position, you’re already closer to financial freedom than you think. So, how do you move forward, and what moves do you make to get there faster? Both Dave and Henry h...

Brian Waters was destined to work until he was at least 63 years old. Now, just five years after starting to invest intentionally, he’s got 16 rental units that can retire him a decade earlier! How’d he do it? A combination of easy, done-for-you out-of-state investment properties and the ever-profitable BRRRR method. Brian’s work isn’t sitting at a desk or crunching numbers. He’s a firefighter and...

The housing market is not going to crash tomorrow. It’s also not going to boom soon. We’re not in 2008, and we’re also not in 2020. We’re in a strange gray area, a zone that most Americans have never experienced before.  We’re entering the “Great Stall.” And this could last for years.  All data points to a new kind of housing market forming. But why, and why now? Is there any chance of a housing c...

Want to start investing in real estate? Then you’ll need an easy way to get into the game: no huge fix and flips or pricey renovations, no 20-unit apartment buildings or hotels. If you’re starting now (or starting over), we have four real estate investing strategies that still work in 2025 (and most likely will in 2026) for beginner-friendly budgets and solid returns. Tony Robinson, host of the Re...

Retirement seemed way too far away for Jessie Dillon. She was burnt out, in physical pain every day, and tired of working so hard. What could get her to the semi-retired lifestyle she wanted faster? Rental properties, of course. Now, just four years later, Jessie has thousands of dollars in monthly cash flow and over a million dollars in real estate equity. Her dreams of location-independence are...

The Federal Reserve just cut rates by another 0.25%, but mortgage rates went…up? This is now the fourth time the Fed has lowered its federal funds rate, and mortgage rates have defied them. It’s becoming clearer than ever before: real estate investors cannot rely on the Fed to save them. If you’re waiting for mortgage rates to get back in the mid-to-low 5% range, you might be waiting for a while....

He was right in 2000, 2008, and 2020—now he’s saying it’s time to buy.  Brian Burke is one of the most revered minds in real estate investing. Almost nobody has done what he has—purchased over $1 billion in real estate without ever losing investor money. He played it safe, made moves 99% of investors couldn’t believe (including selling 75% of his portfolio at the peak in 2022), and came out on top...

You’ve got little savings but want to buy a rental property. You see so many “no money down” investing strategies, but how do you know you won’t get burned trying them out? If you want to learn how to invest in real estate with no money, the right way, you need to take tips from those who have done it successfully without overleveraging themselves. Today, we’ve got two experts who bought rentals w...

Home prices might not rebound for years. For many markets, we’re seeing negative price growth, and even in the “hot” markets, that growth is slowing way down. Inventory is up, affordability isn’t, and the supply-demand balance is shifting fast. But here’s the thing. If prices remain stagnant, investors may have years’ worth of opportunities to buy, and when the market swings in the other direction...

Real estate investing is riskier today than it has been in years—and that’s a good thing. If you invest in real estate, what do you hope for? Opportunities to buy low, sell high, and cash flow in the middle. That’s exactly what’s happening in 2025—and it’s these “riskier” times that have made millions of real estate investors wealthy in the past. But if you don’t know the risks, you could get hurt...

Think you’re too young to start buying rentals and building wealth? You’re not! If you want to know how to invest in real estate while in college, or in your 20s, Daniel Kaplan has the blueprint. In three years, he went from having just $10,000 to his name to owning 99 rental units (and counting)! As a college sophomore, Daniel bought a rental property for less than $50,000 (yes, really!). Then, h...

30% of all jobs could be affected by AI. And if you work in sales, marketing, software engineering, or really any other white-collar profession, there’s a chance your job will be much different (or no longer exist) in a decade. This means that the “work for 40 years and comfortably retire” plan is slowly becoming less realistic.  But what’s the one thing AI can’t take? Your real estate portfolio a...

How much money do you need to invest to retire with real estate? We did the math, and it’s not as much as you’d think. In fact, in some markets, even with a small amount of disposable income, you could become financially free in just five years. We’re asked about retiring with rentals so often that we’re providing an in-depth answer in today’s show. You asked, Dave and Henry are answering. Today,...

How much passive income would you need to retire early? $60K/year? $80K/year? $100K/year? What if you could build a financially freeing passive income stream in just five years? Five years from now, you could retire early, quit your job, or keep building wealth. What would that freedom feel like? Joe Hammel has already achieved it, using a simplistic, beginner-friendly “bread and butter” rental st...

The buying window could be closing in these housing markets. For the first time in years, inventory is dropping in once-strong buyer’s markets. Sellers are tired of waiting for offers and refusing to get lowballed, so more are staying put. With less inventory comes more competition, rising prices, and vulnerable buyers. So, which markets are most at risk? Senior Economist at Zillow, Kara Ng, joins...

This is how to make the most money possible from your rental properties without buying another unit. We got into real estate investing to build wealth, not have the biggest portfolio possible. Financial freedom isn’t so freeing when you have a hundred rental units and hundreds of tenants calling. So, can you make more money with fewer rental units? Yes, and today, we’re giving you five ways to do...

This investor turned a $25,000 rental property (yes, you read that right) into a real estate portfolio producing $5,000/month in actual cash flow. He had no experience, lived in a small town many would write off, and was working 60 hours a week. But small towns mean less competition and lower prices, and Dustin Cardenas was ready to take advantage. Seven years later, he’s financially free thanks t...

House hacking is still the easiest way to start investing in real estate—and it’s getting even easier. You no longer need to live with roommates, share spaces with tenants, and give up your home to offset your mortgage. Instead, thanks to some new methods, you may not even need to live with or next to a tenant at all. These “house hacking” methods still make you rich, still save you tons of money,...

This is how to buy rental properties on a lower salary ($50,000 or less per year) in six steps. If you think you need to be rich to buy rentals, you couldn’t be more wrong. In fact, real estate may be the best investment for those who want to go from low income to financial freedom. You can grow your portfolio faster by using loans, get cash flow that can retire you early, and even make hundreds o...

Have zero experience in real estate investing (literally no idea where to begin)? This guest proves you could be financially free in ten years or less if you start today.  Just a decade ago, Peter Fife was broke, working a dead-end job, and never thought about investment properties. He had such little money that when a book on investing piqued his interest, he would sit in a bookshop reading it, b...

We can definitively say it now: the buyer’s market is here.  The housing market is cooling down, but the deals are heating up as a “mild” correction slows down hot markets and gives buyers even more power in cold ones. With it comes buying opportunities—ones that real estate investors have been starved of over the past few years. You can negotiate for more, offer less, and lock in a lower mortgage...

Small multifamily rentals may be the secret to turning average investors into millionaires. These unassuming properties are in the perfect “sweet spot” for scaling a real estate portfolio, helping you reach financial independence faster with more passive income than regular, single-family rentals, but with even fewer expenses. Today, we’re giving you the five steps to buy your first small multifam...