For the past 999 episodes of the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast, we’ve heard stories from investors who have achieved financial freedom through rental property investing. However, when we started this podcast in 2013, it was a different time. The housing market had crashed just years earlier, prices were still recovering, and cash flow was abundant in many markets. But things have changed, and now we’re changing, too. Welcome to our 1,000th episode and your first look at the new BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast. We’re getting back to the basics, sharing investor strategies that work in today’s market and showcasing the data investors need to know now so they can reach financial freedom faster. Our first guest on this new wealth-building journey is Scott Trench, CEO of BiggerPockets and rental property investor. Today, we ask Scott, “Is financial freedom still possible through real estate, and if so, how do investors achieve it in this housing market?” Scott shares what both beginner and experienced investors must do now to reach financial freedom, who should even be investing in the first place, and the best beginner investment EVERYONE listening to this should be taking full advantage of.  Ready to start building your path to financial freedom today? The BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast is the best place to be!  We also want to thank David Greene and Rob Abasolo for their massive contributions—David Greene for nearly 7 years as a host and co-host of the podcast, and Rob Abasolo for many of the past 250 episodes. They did a fantastic job building on the foundations poured by our Founder, Josh Dorkin, and Brandon Turner and continued the work of changing millions of lives. While we had hoped that Rob and David would continue to stay on as hosts in this rotational capacity, we completely understand their desire to move on to their next adventures, and wish them success in those endeavors, knowing that they will continue to change many lives with their thought leadership. We wish them the best of luck in their next endeavors. In This Episode We Cover The new BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast and what we’re changing starting today Whether you can still achieve financial freedom through real estate in 2024 The best beginner strategy to start building wealth, EVEN with little money  Who should begin investing in real estate and whether you have what it takes  The problem with “passive income” and why hands-on rentals beat it  Investing in affordable markets and who should start with out-of-state investing  How you can become a millionaire without having a huge rental portfolio And So Much More! (00:00) Welcome to BiggerPockets 2.0 (06:09) Is Real Estate Still a Good Idea?  (08:58) The Truth About Financial Freedom (17:21) 3 Options for Investors in 2024 (25:37) The Problem with Passive Income  (30:14) Buying in Affordable Markets  (36:58) Become the Millionaire Next Door Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1000 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