BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

Why does this veteran real estate investor say that early retirement and financial freedom are a bad idea? Why does he think renting, NOT buying a house, makes more sense for most Americans in 2025? And what’s the one mistake that lost him hundreds of thousands of dollars even after being an experienced investor for decades? Jonathan Greene, one of our favorite repeat guests, is back on the show to share. Jonathan’s father, a serial real estate investor, taught him everything about rental properties early on. Together, they walked potential properties, snuck into foreclosed homes, reviewed the profits and figures line by line, and even dealt with evictions together. This equipped Jonathan with the skills to not only build generational wealth for his family but also financial freedom for himself. However, once he achieved it, Jonathan realized that early financial freedom wasn’t worth it. But why? This episode looks into the mind of one of the most experienced investors in the entire industry. Jonathan shares why he still decided to work even after building a real estate portfolio, the investment he made that cost him severely, why he’s moving his money into a more “passive” investment, the reason renting makes MORE sense than buying in 2025, and what a beginner should do RIGHT NOW to start investing in real estate. In This Episode We Cover: The reason Jonathan says early retirement/financial freedom is a mistake  One thing every beginner to real estate investing should be doing right now  Jonathan’s huge loss and the lessons he learned about pricing yourself too high Renting vs. buying and the obvious choice for most Americans in 2025 What to teach your kids about real estate investing and generational wealth And So Much More! Links from the Show Join BiggerPockets for FREE Let Us Know What You Thought of the Show! Ask Your Question on the BiggerPockets Forums Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat The House Hacking Strategy The Passive Real Estate Investing Show Listen to Jonathan’s Podcast, Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing Invest in Turnkey Properties with REI Nation Grab the Syndication Investing Book, “The Hands-Off Investor” Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area Renting a Home Is Financially Better Than Buying—Wait, What?! Connect with Jonathan Connect with Dave (00:00) Intro (01:26) Learning to Invest as a Toddler (04:41) Teaching Your Kids About Wealth (06:31) Flunking Out Then Back to College (07:54) DON’T Retire Early! (16:08) His Huge Losses (17:02) What Jonathan Invests in NOW (22:30) Don’t Buy a House? (26:11) How to Start TODAY (32:39) Exposing Your Kids to Real Estate (35:34) Connect with Jonathan! Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1054 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2024 housing market was nothing short of "wild," to put it lightly. We came from years of unprecedented growth, rock-bottom mortgage rates, and fiery homebuyer demand. While some predicted a housing market crash, we were quite sure that real estate prices would stay stable—and that’s precisely what happened! So, before we enter the 2025 housing market, we’re recapping 2024 with all its trends and surprises so you don’t get caught off guard next year! We’re touching on the big topics: prices, inventory, affordability, best and worst markets, and the commercial real estate crash. Why did prices RISE even when buyer demand fell significantly? Why did the existing housing inventory stay so low? And is now the best time to buy multifamily after its massive value drop in 2024? Get prepared to make 2025 your best year yet, but don’t make the same mistakes of the past. Stick around; we’re giving you your 2024 housing market in review!  In This Episode We Cover: The biggest trends (and surprises) of the 2024 housing market Why did home prices rise in 2024 even with buyer demand so low? Our affordability crisis keeping many Americans renting instead of buying The commercial real estate crash and why multifamily is seriously struggling now Hottest (and coldest) real estate markets that nobody would have expected The cities that are seeing the most rent price growth (and some with the least) And So Much More! Links from the Show Join BiggerPockets for FREE Let Us Know What You Thought of the Show! Ask Your Question on the BiggerPockets Forums Grab Dave’s New Book, “Start with Strategy” Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area How to Invest in Real Estate in 2025 (with NO Experience) Connect with Dave (00:00) Intro (01:12) Sluggish Homebuying (03:03) REALLY Low Affordability (06:19) The "Lock-In Effect" (06:50) Home Prices Still Rising (07:55) Worst/Best Markets (10:54) Multifamily Crashed Hard (15:52) Commercial Real Estate's Big Problem (17:36) Rent Prices Still Growing (20:16) Key Takeaways Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1053 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should you borrow money for your first real estate deal? We’re not talking about taking an interest-free loan from your mom; we mean using “private money” to finance your investment. This type of investment property financing is usually reserved for the more experienced investors, but is it a bad idea for someone with such little experience? Is there another way to finance your first deal that gives you more wiggle room if you make a mistake? This is just one of the BiggerPockets Forum questions we’re answering today from investors like you. One investor on her second rental wants to know whether bankruptcy or late payments is an immediate red flag in a tenant application. She’s struggling to fill up her property, so should she take on a tenant with sub-optimal finances? What do you do when you inherit a tenant paying substantially under-market rent? How do you raise rents the right way? Finally, Henry the house flipper shares his thoughts on the 70% rule and gives his own house-flipping formula you can perform on the spot to see if your deal is a steal! Looking to invest? Need answers? Ask your question on the BiggerPockets Forums! In This Episode We Cover: Whether you should or shouldn’t borrow private money for your first real estate deal Tenant red flags and what to do when you’re struggling to fill a vacancy  Raising rents on inherited tenants and why we DON’T ask for market rates  How to attract better tenants to your rental property (and whether to lower the price) Henry’s house-flipping formula that beats the 70% rule calculation And So Much More! Links from the Show Join BiggerPockets for FREE Let Us Know What You Thought of the Show! Ask Your Question on the BiggerPockets Forums Grab Henry’s New Book, “Real Estate Deal Maker” Find Investor-Friendly Lenders The Comprehensive Guide for Financing Your Very First Real Estate Deal Connect with Henry Connect with Dave (00:51) Use Private Money for FIRST Deal? (06:21) Tenant Red Flags (11:24) How to Attract Tenants (13:47) Raising Rents on Inherited Tenants (19:55) Ditch the 70% Rule? (27:54) Ask Your Question!   Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1052 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yamundow Camara grew up in The Gambia. After losing her parents at a young age, she was taken in by relatives who forced her to sleep on a dirt floor and treated her like a constant burden. Fast forward to 2024, Yamundow has over one hundred rental units and makes hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not millions) in passive income yearly. She STILL works a W2 while running her real estate portfolio. If she could do it, you can, too. If you missed Yamundow’s first episode, we highly recommend listening to it after this one. She goes into great detail on her troubling upbringing, moving to the US, and buying her first real estate deal. Now, she’s gone bigger…much bigger—scaling from thirty-two units to over 150 rental units in just over a year. And she’s not just in residential real estate anymore. Yamundow discusses the deals she’s bought, the hellish renovation project she went through, and her newest commercial real estate asset—a cash-flowing self-storage facility that takes just thirty minutes a week to manage! Yamundow is the epitome of “rags to riches.” We guarantee you’ll be inspired to invest after you hear this one! In This Episode We Cover: Going from complete poverty to millionaire by scaling smart in real estate Why Yamundow started investing in self-storage recently instead of rentals  The reason Yamundow STILL has her W2 job (and thinks you should NOT quit!) What to do when the city government is ruining your renovation plans Finding real estate deals for sale on…Facebook? Here’s how Yamundow does it Sponsoring orphans, writing a book, and Yamundow's big TV show dreams And So Much More! Links from the Show Join BiggerPockets for FREE Let Us Know What You Thought of the Show! Shop the BiggerPockets Bookstore Black Friday SALE Interested in Self-Storage Investing? Grab the Book, “Storing Up Profits” Find Investor-Friendly Lenders From Sleeping on the Floor to Making $80K/Month (in 2 Years!) Connect with Yamundow Connect with Dave (00:00) Intro (01:22) Sleeping on Dirt Floors After Losing Everything (04:55) 32 Units While Working a W2! (09:15) Inspiring Others to Invest (10:27) A Hellish 12-Unit Renovation (15:27) Financing and Working with Contractors (18:13) BIG Section 8 Cash Flow (20:54) Getting into Self Storage Investments (25:36) Supporting Her Family (29:58) What's Next? Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1051 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices