20 rentals in 5 years
Brian Waters scaled from zero to 20 rental properties in just five years while working full-time as a firefighter in California.
Snapshot · BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast
The “Repeatable” Strategy That Helped Him Buy 6 Rentals in 6 Months (Working a W-2)
Explore episode
Jul 27, 2026
Where this was said
Intro: Meet Brian Waters, Firefighter-Turned-Real-Estate-Investor
At 0:07 · chapter starts 0:00
The episode opens with a pointed question — are you in danger of coming up short in retirement? — and then immediately answers it with Brian Waters' story. Dave Meyer lays out the stakes: Brian was a busy firefighter who did the math and realized his pension would never be enough. Rather than take on a second job, he turned to real estate, building a portfolio of 20 rentals in five years and adding 6 more in just the past 6 months. The intro frames Brian as proof that a W-2 professional can scale a real estate business from 2,000 miles away, all while coaching youth football and staying present with his family. It's a tight, motivating setup that signals this episode is packed with tactical, repeatable advice.
6 rentals in 6 months
Brian added 6 new rental properties in the last 6 months, all while working full-time, coaching football, and raising twin boys.
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