Financial Independence in His Mid-30s by Slowly Buying Real Estate

Episode #952
You don’t have to race to financial independence to get there. Dave Meyer, VP of Market Intelligence at BiggerPockets, took his time building up passive income, and years later, it’s what has allowed him to amass impressive wealth all while living abroad, working where he wants, and securing a very stable retirement. But Dave wasn’t always some housing market genius who knew every statistic and metric about real estate investing. He started as a broke college student with no job prospects, struggling to pay his own rent.
After graduating college during one of the worst recessions America had ever experienced, Dave was waiting tables to keep the lights on. He realized that he needed a different way to get ahead, and just getting a job wasn’t going to be enough. So, even with no money, Dave convinced a few friends to buy a house together while he borrowed money for his share of the down payment. Dave managed the property, took the tenant phone calls, and did what he had to do to learn the real estate ropes. And…it worked!
Now, a decade and a half later, Dave has an entire real estate portfolio of long-term and short-term rentals and passive income streams from syndication investments, but this all started with one small deal he took a chance on. Today, Dave shares every part of his story, from finding the first deal to moving abroad, pausing buying rentals, and why he’s getting BACK in the game now and doing deals again!
~~~~
Join BiggerPockets for FREE 👇
www.biggerpockets.com/signup?...
~~~~
Expand Your Investing Knowledge With the BiggerPockets Books:
store.biggerpockets.com/?utm_...
~~~~
Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area:
biggerpockets.com/agentmatch
~~~~
Find Investor-Friendly Lenders:
biggerpockets.com/findlenders
~~~~
Property Manager Finder:
biggerpockets.com/findapm
~~~~
Hear Dave and Henry on the “On the Market” Podcast:
link.chtbl.com/OTM
~~~~
Learn More from Dave with His Real Estate Investing Books:
Real Estate by the Numbers: store.biggerpockets.com/produ...
Start with Strategy: store.biggerpockets.com/produ...
~~~~
Grab Your Copy of “The Psychology of Money”:
store.biggerpockets.com/produ...
~~~~
How to Buy a Rental Property With No Money: 10 Strategies for Real Estate Investors:
www.biggerpockets.com/blog/bu...
~~~~
Connect with Dave:
BiggerPockets: www.biggerpockets.com/users/d...
Instagram: @thedatadeli or / thedatadeli
~~~~
Connect with Henry:
BiggerPockets: www.biggerpockets.com/users/h...
Henry: @thehenrywashington or / thehenrywashington
Show notes at: link.chtbl.com/BPRE
00:00 Intro
01:08 First Rental with NO Money
12:25 Optimizing His Portfolio
18:30 Investing During the Crash
19:46 Moving Abroad
21:45 Passive vs. Active Investments
30:59 Dave’s Current Portfolio

[@tylermundy7985]

I really enjoy Dave Meyer's work with On the Market, it was cool to hear his own story in more detail!

[@phil1954]

Guys, partners are great, but remember their not really your properties and the income looks much different without partners. Try wholesaling a few deals and then buying your own properties. You will be able to make residual income much quicker. Just a different way to grow without partners. Cajun

[@petersongltd]

Just like they mentioned, it would be nice to architect your portfolio with a great balance between passive and active. Even though cash flow might not look great, being a LP can be a great way to build equity without putting much effort into it.
Nonetheless, you suggested a great way to get your foot into the field!

[@jsbgame74]

Great podcast! Very structured and informative.

[@brendencassanova]

Great life lesson when it comes to REI

[@RICKGTIME]

I was just wondering if Dave would like to share what syndication funds he is investing with. I have spoken with prr capital and was considering going with them but I'm curious who Dave is investing with.

[@travelinlightistheonlywayt9033]

Hey Dave, where are you investing now in the midwest?