From Broke and Living in Grandma’s Basement to Real Estate Millionaire

Episode #1249 Baselane: Automate your real estate finances with banking and AI-powered bookkeeping. Claim your $100 bonus! https://www.baselane.com/lp/bigger-pockets/?utm_source=bigger_pockets&utm_campaign=bigger_pockets&utm_medium=YT-M *This investor started with $0 in the bank, waited tables to buy rental properties,* secretly moved into a retirement community to save money on rent, and *borrowed a down payment* just to get into his first home. Now, *16 years later, he’s financially free, has surpassed the millionaire mark,* and never got caught in the “buy a hundred units” trap. This might be one of the most intriguing guests we’ve ever had on the show. He went against all odds to *build wealth that a job couldn’t take away,* found “secret” rental units everybody overlooked, and even *reverse-engineered government documents to find out where the next prime rental property location would be,* so he could buy exactly where the demand was going. Some would call him a genius; others, a pioneer. But we just call him the man with sandwich crumbs on his shirt because today we’re finally sharing the *Dave Meyer origin story,* and a lot of it we didn’t even know. Episode Show Notes: https://lnk.to/biggerpocketsYT Join BiggerPockets for FREE 👇 https://www.biggerpockets.com/signup?utm_source=owned_media 🎉Join us at the BiggerPockets Conference October 2-4 in Orlando. Buy tickets: https://biggerpockets.com/bpcon2026 Let Us Know What You Thought of the Show! https://www.BiggerPockets.com/Podcastfeedback Grab Dave’s Book, _Start with Strategy_ : https://store.biggerpockets.com/products/start-with-strategy?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none Sign Up for the BiggerPockets Real Estate Newsletter: https://www.biggerpockets.com/email-subscribe?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area: http://biggerpockets.com/agentmatch Real Estate Investing Partnerships: Types of Partners & Secrets To Success: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-investing-partnership-types?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none Connect with Henry: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/henryw22?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none Connect with Dave: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/davem27?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none 00:00 Intro 01:33 Waiting Tables, Wanting More 04:54 Anyone Can Buy Rentals!? 07:25 Funding His 1st Rental (with No Money) 10:14 Sneaking Into a Retirement Community 12:29 Sponsor: Baselane! 13:10 Secret Rental Unit? 17:28 Finding BiggerPockets 20:58 Best Rental Ever? 25:39 How to Find PRIME Investments 27:00 Moving to Europe with 10 Units 31:06 Dave’s Current Portfolio 33:11 What You Don’t Know About Dave