Quote · BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast
Is Real Estate Still THE Best Path to Passive Income? (Invited to Debate)
Where this was said
Finding a Real Estate-Friendly Financial Advisor
At 43:58 · chapter starts 41:55
Dave Meyer's personal experience is telling: even as a sophisticated real estate professional, he interviewed eight or nine financial advisors before finding one who genuinely understood real estate investing rather than just wanting to gather his assets into a managed stock portfolio. Sterling explains the structural reason: the industry incentivizes sales over advice, and most advisors are measured on assets under management. His prescription is to find a practitioner — look for CFP credentials as a starting signal — who takes a holistic view of total wealth including real estate equity, and who will push back on bad ideas without dismissing the whole asset class. The relationship should feel like coaching, not product delivery.
Most financial advisors are salespeople first and practitioners second. If you're a real estate investor, you need an advisor who genuinely understands what you're building — not just someone who wants to move your assets into their managed portfolio.
Dave Meyer says he interviewed eight or nine financial advisors before finding one who genuinely understood real estate investing, highlighting how rare real estate-literate advisors are.
Ryan Sterling, citing Warren Buffett's reputation quote, says wealth typically takes two to three decades to accumulate and can be destroyed by just one or two bad decisions.
