https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-560

Did you know you can use your 401(k) to retire early? Yep, it’s possible. And today’s guest, Eric Cooper, is doing it at age 47! Most FIRE chasers search for how to withdraw from a 401(k) early but know that doing so will hit them with substantial penalties. The best way around this? The 72(t) rule—which is precisely what Eric has been taking advantage of. Eric uses the 72(t) rule’s “substantially equal periodic payments” to take early withdrawals from his 401(k) of $30K per year, starting at age 47. But how does it work?

Eric comes on the show to describe exactly how this early withdrawal rule works, how much you can take out, the regulations to follow so you avoid penalties, and why early retirement may be much closer than you think. But this isn’t the only early retirement income Eric has got. We’ll review his substantial real estate portfolio and detail Eric's almost unbelievable tax savings from combining tax-advantaged rental properties with rule 72(t).

Plus, Eric shares how he built a multimillion-dollar nest egg by his mid-forties and why those starting young on the path to early retirement can repeat his strategy to be much richer in retirement. Do you have money sitting in retirement accounts that you’re ready to use? The 72(t) rule might be just what you need.

Dude ACTUALLY Withdraws From His 401(k) and Retires at 47

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1022

Struggling to pick what to invest in, especially when real estate prices and mortgage rates are still so high? Many investors are sitting on the sidelines, saving cash for their first or next investment property, but nothing seems to work out. So what do you do, keep your money socked away or invest in other assets that aren’t real estate while waiting for the right time to pull the trigger? We know many of you are in this position, so today, we’re sharing what we’re investing in that ISN’T real estate.

This may be a surprise, but even some of the most well-known investors in the BiggerPockets universe aren’t 100% in real estate. Dave Meyer, Brian Burke, and Mindy Jensen all don’t have even half of their net worths in real estate investments. As such respected real estate investors, what else are they putting their money into that ISN’T more rental properties?

In this episode, you get to peek into our investment accounts as we share exactly what we’ve been investing in, how we diversify our investment portfolios, and the “riskier” assets we put our money into that you may not even know exist. So, if you’re struggling to buy real estate or just don’t think investment properties are for you, worry not; you can still build wealth without purchasing a property.

What to Invest in When You’re NOT Buying Real Estate

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-462

This assistant principal slowly and steadily used home equity to invest, helping him acquire seven properties in just over ten years. These properties have now seen sizable appreciation, and he has hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity, all thanks to taking it slow and making the right moves on the right rental properties. This might be one of the most repeatable paths to wealth out there, and you can copy it to a tee to build wealth, too!

James Likis got his start where many rookie investors do—house hacking. Except it started WAY before he was an adult. James remembers his family house hacking as a kid, which prompted him to buy, not rent, as soon as he started looking for his own place to live. After house hacking for years, he saw his equity grow and later used this one property to buy his dream home, which would help him build even MORE equity.

James has used this equity-recycling strategy to buy over a million dollars worth of real estate, and it all started from ONE house hack. You can do it, too, and like James, you may begin searching for even more affordable housing markets where your dollar can stretch further. Today, he’s sharing how he used his home equity to grow his real estate portfolio, why he decided to invest out of state, and a specific home renovation loan he used to turn his second property into a fully-renovated, high-appreciating family home!

7 Properties in 10 Years by Turning 1 Home’s Equity Into an Entire Portfolio

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1023

Cash flow is hard to find in 2024, but these real estate markets have plenty of it. Since so many previously “cash-flowing” markets have seen rising prices, higher expenses, and limited housing inventory, we went back to the drawing board to reevaluate which markets in the United States offer the most cash flow potential. Today, we share these markets and hone in on two specific ones with real-life on-market examples to prove that cash flow is still possible.

But before we get into that, we’re sharing the cash flow formula even beginners can use to quickly calculate whether a rental property will cash flow. Then, we describe what type of cash-on-cash return WE target in today’s market and list some of the most cash-flowing markets of 2024.

Want to see real cash-flowing rental property examples? We’re hopping over to BiggerPockets Deal Finder as we quickly analyze two separate rental properties in two cash-flowing markets to prove that these properties do sport some serious cash flow. Don’t believe us? Head over to BiggerPockets Market Finder, where you can see the nation’s top rent-to-price investing areas (that’s where the cash flow is!).

BiggerNews: 2 Real Estate Markets That PROVE Cash Flow Is Alive in 2024

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1024

Mike Baum owns just one rental property, but this one property alone has changed his life. It’s allowed him to become such an investing expert that he’s constantly being asked for his opinion on the BiggerPockets forums, and he provides some of the most well-thought-out investing advice on the internet. So why does he have just one rental property, and why doesn’t he grow using his expertise? The answer isn’t that obvious.

You wouldn’t know it, but Mike is permanently disabled. After overworking so hard that he ended up losing his vision, he was placed on disability for the rest of his working career. This high achiever was forced to slow down and find something else that could replace his day job. Shortly after his diagnosis, he found BiggerPockets and turned a family vacation home into a short-term rental.

Now, he’s got systems and processes that help him self-manage with very few headaches, and he will probably keep this property as his one and only rental for life. Why didn’t he “FOMO” in when everyone was gobbling up real estate in 2020? Why didn’t he grow his portfolio to become the next tycoon? Mike has some clear answers for why he did what he did, and after listening to him, you might change what you want, too.

A Better Retirement After Buying Just ONE Rental (and Never FOMO-ing)

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-463

Finding, screening, and placing new tenants for your rental property is not only difficult—it’s expensive! Want to attract the best tenants in town and ensure that they stick around for the long haul? You won’t want to miss this episode!

Welcome back to the Real Estate Rookie podcast! As the self-proclaimed “lazy investor,” Dion McNeeley wants to have long-term tenants and as little turnover as possible. Today, he’s going to share the tips, tricks, and tactics he uses to keep tenants around for not just months or years but decades. The best part? He’s not doing anything the average investor can’t do. By implementing these same strategies, you can find high-quality residents and reduce turnover!

Of course, not every investor can devote twenty hours to their real estate business each week. Fortunately, Dion offers some portfolio-saving advice that will allow you to become a more hands-off investor. You’ll hear about a strategy that will have tenants asking YOU to raise rent, as well as a crucial document that could protect your investment when inheriting tenants. Finally, you’ll learn why retention isn’t always the best option and when to let a tenant go.

The “Lazy” Landlord’s Guide to Finding (And Keeping) Tenants & Raising Rents

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-464

Snowballing a $20,000 investment into eleven rental properties…in under four years?! Most investors are happy to add ONE property to their real estate portfolio every year or so, but this rookie wants to get a head start on his ultimate goal—creating enough cash flow to retire him and his wife!

Welcome back to the Real Estate Rookie podcast! After years of job hopping, Bryan Field wondered whether settling into a traditional nine-to-five job would ever be in the cards for him. As fate would have it, Bryan stumbled on BiggerPockets at a crossroads in his life, and real estate investing quickly became his new obsession. The only problem? His hometown of San Diego, California was well outside his price range. So, he and his wife took a leap of faith and moved to Arizona, which is where he found his first rental property!

In just a few short years, Bryan has had the FULL investing experience—changing investing strategies mid-deal and investing in markets all over the country. Along the way, he has moved to low-cost-of-living areas to save money, rolled home equity into more deals, and found rare off-market properties (seller-financed)!

Snowballing $20K Into 11 Rental Properties in Under 4 Years

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-568

What does it mean to “win” financially in your income bracket? To us, the end goal is always FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), and if you’re chasing financial freedom, this is the show for you. We’re breaking down the money moves you need to make based on your income bracket, going from $45,000 to $100,000 per year, and how to stretch your dollar the furthest so you can invest, save, and reach FIRE faster.

If you’re at the lower end of the income scale, we’ll give you time-tested methods to boost your income and use your time wisely so you can start stockpiling cash TODAY. If you have a high income, there’s still work to be done as you need to find the best way to keep the most of your income so you can use it to acquire wealth-building assets.

Regardless of how much money you make, you CAN achieve FIRE if you know the proper steps. The good news? We’re sharing those steps today, so stick around!

How to Reach FIRE Based on Your Income ($45K – $100K/Year)

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/on-the-market-257

Mortgage rates are finally falling, and Redfin is predicting a “brighter” housing market. Who’s leading the charge in new homebuyers? Surprisingly, the generation nobody expected—Gen Z. How are they doing it, and why are their homeownership rates so much higher than Millennials and Gen Xers at the same age? We’re digging into it and sharing our forecasts of what the coming housing market will look like.

But to understand where we’re headed, we have to peak inside the personal finances of Americans. In this episode, we’re breaking down the average American’s wallet, how much money they have, their credit card debt, and whether they’ll be able to weather the financial storm of rising costs coming at them. How can Americans cope with higher insurance, taxes, and home prices?

Why is Redfin so optimistic about the 2025 spring homebuying market? And what are we seeing right now in our own markets in terms of buyer demand? Have lower mortgage rates finally crossed the threshold where Americans feel comfortable buying a house? We’ll touch on all of today’s latest headlines in this show!

Headlines: Redfin Sees a “Brighter” Homebuying Season Coming, Will It Happen?

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/on-the-market-258

Did immigrants help keep landlords afloat during this tough housing market? New data may be pointing to just that. Today, we’re discussing one rarely mentioned housing market factor—immigration and immigrant renters. We’re talking about documented AND undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers, and what the effect of the massive influx in immigration has been on the renting market.



John Burns from John Burns Research and Consulting, joined by VP of Demographics Eric Finnigan, is back on the show to discuss immigration, household formation, migration patterns, mortgage rates, and the effects each of these factors has on the housing market. With immigration exploding (we’re in one of the largest immigration years EVER), the next obvious question is: how is this affecting rents/available homes? John and Eric bring in new data to share how immigration may have “bailed out” landlords during the worst parts of the market. 



But that’s not all. We also touch on John Burns Research’s newest house-flipping survey and how flippers are surviving (thriving?) in today’s market. Why are builders becoming more bullish on the housing market? And could the recent mortgage rate cuts open the spigot of homebuyer demand in this already supply-constrained market? We’re digging into the data that answers these questions in today’s show.

Immigration Boosts Renter Demand, Builder Confidence Is Growing

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/on-the-market-259

We talk a lot about the overall housing market, but what about the best states to invest in real estate? A state on the East Coast might see solid rents, booming business growth, and low inventory, while somewhere on the West Coast could be experiencing the opposite. At a state level, factors like economic strength, job growth, income tax, and others can greatly impact where Americans live and rent. So, which states would WE happily invest in now?

Today, we’re sharing the four states we feel bullish about in 2024, specifically for economic growth. And when there’s economic growth, there’s usually excellent investing prospects. You may have thought about investing in a few of these states before, and one of them you may have forgotten was even a state (sorry to those residents), but all of them boast real estate investing potential that many other parts of the US lack.

And, during a time when home prices are still high, some of these markets are seeing what could be a temporary decline, opening up the potential for you to go in and scoop up deals before their real estate markets begin to rebound. Which states are we most confident about? Stick around to find out!

4 States With the Strongest Economies and Investing Potential

BiggerPockets’ goal is to make 1 Million Millionaires by sharing the power of investing in Real Estate to create financial freedom in your life. 

Join our hosts and guest to become part of the growing community taking control of their financial journey on our largest and longest-running podcast that breaks down real estate investing strategies that work today—from deep-dive interviews to coaching calls, news analysis, and more. 

Make your next real estate investing move with confidence…tune in to the #1 real estate investing podcast.

Dude ACTUALLY Withdraws From His 401(k) and Retires at 47

BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

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