Buying 4 Small Multifamily Rentals in Just 2 Years (While Working a W2)

Real Estate Rookie

BiggerPockets

Business, Education, Entrepreneurship, Investing, How To

4.7 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 16 February 2026

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The what-ifs of real estate investing keep many rookies on the sidelines indefinitely. But when today’s guest determined his “safe” nine-to-five was just as uncertain as buying a rental property, he took the plunge. Now, having bought four small multifamily properties in just two years while keeping his W2 job, he’s fast-tracking financial freedom! Welcome back to the Real Estate Rookie podcast! Like many rookies, Derek Brickley dreamed of owning a sizable rental portfolio, but taking that first step was his biggest hurdle. He could have allowed his blind spots to keep him trapped in analysis paralysis, but instead, he leaned into his investing network and drummed up the courage to buy his first house hack. It wasn’t a home-run deal, but it changed everything, teaching him how to make offers on properties, plan renovations, and manage tenants. Now, Derek has the tools to scale his real estate portfolio and an investing strategy that has set him on a clear path to financial freedom. Rather than using real estate to supplement his day job, his W2 income now supplements his investments. Stay tuned as he shares his highly “repeatable” process! In This Episode We Cover How Derek bought four small multifamily properties in just two years Building your rental portfolio faster by keeping (not quitting!) your W2 job Leveraging your investing network to bridge the knowledge “gap” Having tenants pay for your living expenses with the house hacking strategy How to do your due diligence before inheriting tenants with a rental property Critical mistakes to avoid when tackling do-it-yourself (DIY) renovations And So Much More! Check out more resources from this show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BiggerPockets.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-680 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertise@biggerpockets.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Think you need total confidence or a quit your job moment to break free from the nine to five?
0:06.0	Today's guest proves that one intentional deal can turn vague hope into a clear plan.
0:11.6	Not long ago, Derek Berkeley was still working his W-2, unsure when or how he'd ever exit until one carefully chosen deal changed everything.
0:20.7	Now, Derek has a repeatable investing model that gives him certainty. he'd ever exit until one carefully chosen deal changed everything.
0:26.4	Now, Derek has a repeatable investing model that gives him certainty around his timeline out of the 9 to 5 without the chaos of burnout.
0:29.2	So in this episode, you'll learn how to choose a first deal that fits a full-time job,
0:35.1	how to limit downside as a rookie investor, and how one smart move
0:38.9	can make your exit from your day job feel inevitable.
0:47.7	This is the Real Estate Rookie Podcast. I'm Ashley Carey. And I'm Tony J. Robinson. Let's give a
0:53.3	big warm welcome to Derek. Derek,
0:54.9	thanks so much for joining us today. Yeah, I appreciate it, guys. Shoot, really happy to be here.
0:58.9	It's been a long time coming, long time listener, first time podcast. Well, we're happy to have you.
1:04.6	But before this deal that you had, what did escaping the 9 to 5 actually mean to you? And why did it feel so far away still?
1:15.1	It was a drastic shift because I had no idea. And I feel like a lot of people don't, especially
1:20.1	when you're just starting out in anything. And that doesn't have to be real estate. It's hard to
1:25.2	get the vision in place and put the steps
1:27.8	there of where you want to go. Sometimes you might have the vision, the end goal, but it's
1:32.2	where do you start? And so for me, I knew ahead of time, thankfully that when I was in college,
1:37.9	I was just like a lot of people who, again, you don't know what you're doing. I went to school
1:43.7	to get an idea of what might spark
1:46.6	my interest. And I ended up finding, fortunately, the math, the numbers, the finance side of it.
1:53.5	And that just sort of started this spiral into what needs to happen in order for me to get where I want to go. And so it was always
	...

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