There’s one way to invest in real estate that’s cheaper, easier, and more efficient than almost any other strategy. It allows you to get the best mortgage rates with the lowest down payments and buy properties in the best areas. And you can do it every single year until you grow a massive real estate portfolio. Real estate millionaires have been made using this strategy, but most Americans have no idea about it. What’s the wealth-building secret that savvy investors are taking advantage of? Of course, it’s house hacking.

If you’ve never heard of house hacking before, the concept is simple: You buy a single-family home or a small multifamily property and rent out the space you’re not using. This not only allows you access to the best mortgages but also keeps your mortgage cost lower than living on your own. This strategy is so good that expert investor Dave Meyer and today’s lender guest, Terrence Terrell, have used it repeatedly to build serious wealth.

If you’re a first-time homebuyer or have a home but want to get into rental property investing, this is THE strategy to try first. Terrence gives a beginner-friendly masterclass on house hacking, showcasing the huge benefits of house hacking’s low-money-down loans, what you need to have to qualify for a mortgage, the common misconceptions most people get wrong about house hacking, and how to use this strategy to build wealth fast.

In This Episode We Cover
House hacking explained and why it’s the easiest beginner real estate investing strategy 
How to buy your first investment property with as little as ONE percent down 
Qualifying for a mortgage and what first-time homebuyers must know before they apply
The free way to find out whether or not you’ll be able to get financing for your house hack
The easy, low-money-down way to build a real estate portfolio by house hacking 
And So Much More!

(00:00) Intro
(01:26) What is House Hacking?
(03:16) Put Just 1% Down!
(07:50) Who Should House Hack?
(09:28) It's Not as Hard As You Think
(11:55) What Homebuyers Need to Know
(14:51) Qualifying for a Mortgage
(18:43) Advice for First-Time House Hackers 

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and  https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-950
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950: The Easiest Way to Invest in Real Estate in 2024 w/Terrence Terrell

On the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast, co-hosts David Greene and Rob Abasolo interview real estate investors and entrepreneurs about successes, failures, and hard-earned lessons. Through in-depth conversations, 1-on-1 listener coaching calls, and news analysis, you’ll get a breakdown of real strategies that work for different niches and experience levels. Tune into the #1 real estate investing podcast every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

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"Subject to" real estate has been exploding in popularity. When mortgage rates began to rise, subject to (often called sub to) came in as the hero to save the day. This real estate investing strategy offered investors the chance to take over low-interest-rate loans from homeowners who wanted to sell their properties. And, with often a minimal down payment required, new and experienced investors lined up to give this fast-scaling strategy a try. Without even knowing it, Tanner Litchfield did the same.
After being brought a home run, three-percent mortgage rate deal, Tanner knew he had to act quickly to secure what would be a massive passive income play. He put down a six-figure down payment to secure it, with another seventy thousand dollars in renovation costs. Things were rolling smoothly until…they weren’t. Tanner lost every penny he put into this property and the property itself while another investor walked away with it in hand. How did this happen, and how do YOU avoid a six-figure creative financing mistake?
In today’s episode, Tanner walks through every difficult detail of this deal gone wrong. He shares the red flags he should have seen in the beginning and the one thing that could have saved him from this deadly deal. If you’re interested in seller financing, subject to, or any other type of creative financing, you MUST listen to this episode, or you could be hit with a six-figure loss, too.

In This Episode We Cover:
Subject to real estate explained and why so many investors are flocking to this strategy
The “due on sale" clause which can easily lose you an entire property if called
Why you MUST understand the zoning and rules for your rental property BEFORE you buy it
The “gray area” of creative financing that is putting new and veteran investors at risk
Why having a solid network in your investing area can stop you from getting burned 
And So Much More!
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The Hidden Risks of “Subject To” Real Estate w/Eddie Speed
Creative Financing: How To Use It In Real Estate
Connect with Tanner:
Tanner's BiggerPockets Profile

(00:00) Intro
(01:20) Ditching Dentistry to Invest 
(04:35) Finding Creative Financing 
(06:15) A Perfect Deal on Paper
(10:15) Scoring a 3% Interest Rate?
(12:39) Things Go Really Wrong
(21:15) A Massive "Gray Area"
(25:43) A Chance of Recovering?
(30:25) What Tanner Would Do Differently

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and  https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-956
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956: How a 3% Interest Rate Cost Me Over $180,000 (Avoid My Mistake) w/Tanner Litchfield

Which will make you richer: real estate vs. stocks? We brought the fine folks from The Motley Fool on the podcast to get into a serious debate over which asset makes you more money, which is easier to invest in, and which saves you the most in taxes. We’ll go head-to-head against The Motley Fool’s Jason Moser and Matt Argersinger to finally answer the age-old question: Should you invest in stocks, real estate, or both?

For this debate, we had to bring out the big guns. That’s why Dave Meyer and BiggerPockets CEO Scott Trench will be on team real estate for this debate, as Chris Hutchins from All the Hacks moderates to ensure things stay fair. Although we’d love to admit that we crushed this debate, there are some moments when the stock investors will surprise you, showing that real estate may not be for everyone and how stocks beat real estate in numerous ways. But that doesn’t answer the question, “Does real estate make you richer?” Don’t worry; we’ll get into all that in this debate. 

Stick around as we get into the topics you care about most: building wealth, barriers to entry, volatility and risk, diversification, REITs vs. rentals, leverage and liquidity, time commitments, tax advantages, and more. If you’re itching to park your cash in an investment, hear out the debate BEFORE you make a move!

Support today’s show sponsor, Rent App: the free and easy way to collect rent!

In This Episode We Cover
The ultimate real estate vs. stocks debate (and which will make you richer)
Barriers to entry and which asset class is the EASIEST for beginners
Volatility and risk, and the sizable advantage real estate has for stable pricing 
REITs (real estate investment trusts) vs. rentals and the more “passive” type of real estate investing 
How much time it actually takes to succeed at stock investing and landlording 
The MASSIVE tax advantages to real estate investing that stocks cannot beat 
Why BiggerPockets CEO Scott Trench invests more in stocks than in real estate (!?)
And So Much More!

(00:00) Intro
(02:20) Stocks vs. Real Estate Investing 
(04:08) Building Wealth 
(08:43) Barriers to Entry 
(14:50 )Volatility and Risk 
(20:41) Diversification
(23:42) REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) vs. Rentals 
(32:57) Time Commitments 
(35:53) Leverage and Liquidity 
(41:12) Tax Advantages 
(43:54) Closing Arguments 

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and  https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-955
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955: BiggerNews: Real Estate vs. Stocks, the Ultimate Wealth-Building Debate w/The Motley Fool!

Would you buy a house for $100K? That’s right, just twenty-five percent of the median home price in America. Well, we found a couple who does just that, finding fixer-upper properties that often cost less than six figures and turning them into eye-catching, head-turning homes. They even argue that these cheap old homes are BETTER than the newer-built house flips that so many investors are targeting today. So, how do you find your next $100K home, and where do you start looking?

Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein, the brains behind HGTV’s Cheap Old Houses and the social media account by the same name with millions of followers, join us on today’s show. Elizabeth and Ethan love cheap old houses, but not for the reason you think. Most investors purely look at the numbers or the profit potential, but Elizabeth and Ethan see beyond that, fixing up old houses to not only collect the significant equity gain but restore communities and bring back long-forgotten styles, materials, and looks.

They’ve bought houses for as cheap as $27,000 and turned them into homes anyone would dream of having. If you’re an investor without much capital and can get a little handy, these old houses could explode your portfolio. But who SHOULD be buying these cheap old houses? Stick around as Elizabeth and Ethan give their expert advice on what to DIY vs. hire out, which old pieces to keep, the best way for beginners to get started with little money, and the decades that built the BEST houses!

In This Episode We Cover
How to get on the path to financial freedom by buying cheap old houses 
Buying houses for just $27,000 and where to find these types of homes 
How old is old enough, and the decades when building quality starts to decline
Using the “live in flip” strategy to buy your first fixer-upper or primary residence 
DIY vs. hiring it out and the tasks that Elizabeth and Ethan enjoy the most 
And So Much More!

(00:00) Intro
(01:24) Why Cheap Old Houses?
(05:16) $150K Houses!?
(07:17) Rehabbing New vs. Old Houses 
(19:03) Who Should Do These Rehabs?
(20:11) Best Ways to Get Started 
(23:38) DIY vs. Hiring it Out
(27:47) Connect with Ethan and Elizabeth!

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and  https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-954
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954: Cheap Old Houses: Buying Fixer-Uppers for Just $100K w/Ethan and Elizabeth Finkelstein

Could building houses make you more money than buying existing ones? When should someone use the 1% rule in real estate, and when does this metric point to a cash flow disaster? What’s the best way to get more capital or funding for future real estate deals: get a HELOC on your primary residence or look for investor-only DSCR loans? We’re pulling some of the top questions from the BiggerPockets Forums and giving our answers on today’s show!

Expert investors Dave Meyer, James Dainard, and Kathy Fettke from the BiggerPockets On the Market podcast are on today to answer YOUR real estate investing questions. First, we return to the age-old debate, “Does the 1% rule exist anymore?” With high home prices and lagging rent growth, this once foolproof metric could be an outdated calculation inexperienced real estate investors should avoid. Next, can you make more money building houses than flipping houses? 

Are turnkey rentals the best “low headache” real estate investment? We’ll answer that and give our thoughts on when to use a HELOC (home equity line of credit) vs. a DSCR loan (debt service coverage ratio). Finally, for our out-of-state investors, we share the top metrics to look at BEFORE you invest in a new market. 

Want to ask a real estate investing question? Post yours in the BiggerPockets Forums, and we might select it for our next show!

In This Episode We Cover
The 1% rule explained and when you should (and definitely shouldn’t) use it to decide on deals
Building new construction vs. flipping houses, plus which could make you more in 2024
Turnkey real estate investing and whether the lost value-add potential is worth the passive income
HELOCs (home equity lines of credit) vs. DSCR (debt service coverage ratio) loans
Best tools to use and metrics to track when looking into out-of-state investing markets 
And So Much More!

(00:00) Intro
(00:46) Is the 1% Rule Dead?
(08:24) Building vs. Flipping Houses
(14:30) Are Turnkey Rentals Worth It?
(20:56) HELOCs vs. DSCR Loans
(25:07) Local Market Metrics to Track
(30:46) Ask Us Your Question!

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and  https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-953
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953: Is the 1% Rule Dead? + Why Building (NOT Buying) Could Make You More

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!

In This Episode We Cover
How to invest in real estate even if you’re starting from zero with NO money
The power of house hacking and how this strategy can explode your real estate portfolio 
Optimizing your portfolio and how to systematize your rentals so YOU don’t do all the work
Investing during a housing crash and why most Americans were running from rental properties 
Passive investing through real estate syndications and the pros and cons of putting your money in one 
Why Dave is finally getting back into the rental property game after years on the sidelines 
And So Much More!

(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 

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and  https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-952
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950: The Easiest Way to Invest in Real Estate in 2024 w/Terrence Terrell

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