30 Rentals in 5 Years with Small, Affordable Multifamily Properties

BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast · Apr 20, 2026 · 40m

In 2021, Jesse Walters bought his first rental unit. Now, in 2026, he’s got a portfolio of around 30 rentals composed of small, affordable (mostly) multifamily properties that he’s getting killer returns on. Jesse did it even when mortgage rates were at 8%, even when home prices were flying up and subsequently correcting back down, and even when he didn’t know where he’d find the money to do it.

So, how does someone with zero real estate investing experience scale from no rentals to close to 30 in just five years, during a very volatile housing market? Jesse is sharing exactly how he grew…