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Feb 2025
40m 12s

How I Turned $9,000 into My Dream Home B...

BIGGERPOCKETS
About this episode

Can you afford your “dream house” right now? The one with the pool and the ocean views, space for the kids to run around, and a huge pantry. The secret nobody will tell you: you CAN afford your dream house right now—or at least you can afford the investment that will get you there. Just ask James Dainard, who took a $175,000 hoarder condo and turned it into what would eventually become his $8,500,000 dream house. You can do the same using his level-up strategy.

James only started with $9,000, which turned into multiple millions over the next fifteen years. He would buy a house, fix it, and trade it up for a better one, repeating this strategy five times until he reached the goal: a 9,000-square-foot luxury home in one of the priciest markets in America, Scottsdale, Arizona.

He made millions of dollars completely tax-free because of this live-in flip strategy that ANYONE can use to massively multiply their wealth and take them to their dream home. And maybe you don’t want an $8,500,000 mansion—that’s fine! It only took James three house flips to get into “dream home territory,” and you can do the same!


In This Episode We Cover:

How to use the live-in flip strategy to make tax-free millions and buy your dream home

Why buying the worst house in the best neighborhood can make you rich 

Why your primary residence IS an investment…if you use it the right way 

The real estate tax cheat code that lets homeowners make $500K in tax-free profits 

How to renovate a home even if you have zero flipping or construction experience 

Why it’s crucial to find a spouse who’s DTF (down to flip)

And So Much More!


Links from the Show

Join BiggerPockets for FREE

Let Us Know What You Thought of the Show!

Ask Your Question on the BiggerPockets Forums

BiggerPockets YouTube

Apply to Be a Podcast Guest

James’ Live-in Flip Story!

Watch the Trailer for Million Dollar Zombie Flips

Try REsimpli, The Only All-In-One Real Estate Investor CRM Software That Helps You Manage Data, Marketing, Sales, and Operations

Find Investor-friendly Tax and Financial Experts

Grab James’ New Book, “The House Flipping Framework”

Sign Up for the BiggerPocket Real Estate Newsletter

Find Investor-Friendly Lenders

Is a Live In Flip Right for You? Here’s How to Tell

Connect with James

Connect with Dave



(00:00) Intro

(03:57) Best Investment? YOUR House!

(07:41) House 1 ($175K Condo)

(12:05) Pay NO Taxes on Profit!

(14:06) House 2 ($235K)

(19:09) House 3 ($890K)

(22:04) House 4 ($1.7M)

(26:22) Making $1.2M on ONE House!?

(28:10) House 5 ($8.5M Dream House!)

(31:44) Tips for 1st Live-in Flip


Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1089

Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email advertise@biggerpockets.com.

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