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 👇 https://www.biggerpockets.com/signup?utm_source=owned_media ~~~~ Expand Your Investing Knowledge With the BiggerPockets Books: https://store.biggerpockets.com/?utm_source=owned_media ~~~~ Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area: http://biggerpockets.com/agentmatch ~~~~ Find Investor-Friendly Lenders: http://biggerpockets.com/findlenders ~~~~ Property Manager Finder: https://biggerpockets.com/findapm ~~~~ Hear Dave and Henry on the “On the Market” Podcast: https://link.chtbl.com/OTM ~~~~ Learn More from Dave with His Real Estate Investing Books: Real Estate by the Numbers: https://store.biggerpockets.com/products/real-estate-by-the-numbers?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none Start with Strategy: https://store.biggerpockets.com/products/start-with-strategy?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none ~~~~ Grab Your Copy of “The Psychology of Money”: https://store.biggerpockets.com/products/psychology-of-money?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none ~~~~ How to Buy a Rental Property With No Money: 10 Strategies for Real Estate Investors: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/buy-real-estate-investment-no-money?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none ~~~~ Connect with Dave: BiggerPockets: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/davem27?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none Instagram: @thedatadeli or https://www.instagram.com/thedatadeli/ ~~~~ Connect with Henry: BiggerPockets: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/henryw22?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none Henry: @thehenrywashington or https://www.instagram.com/thehenrywashington/ Show notes at: https://link.chtbl.com/BPRE