How I Built a $100K/Year Passive Income Stream in 5 Years

What if affordable homes could fund a different life?

Joe Hamill started as a factory worker and ended up owning 24 properties that produce more than $115,000 a year in cash flow after budgeting for vacancy and capital expenses. That leap feels cinematic until you strip away the glamour and see the repeated, practical choices behind it: buy the kind of house people actually want, do light-to-medium rehab, get tenants who pay, refinance when it makes sense, and repeat. I was surprised by how methodical—and mundane—the winning moves really are.

Small houses, steady math

Here’s what stood out: Joe’s “bread-and-butter” properties aren’t fancy. They’re mostly two-bedroom, one-bath or three-one setups. Purchase price ranges he targeted were roughly $80,000 in 2023 and moved up to about $125,000 in 2024 as the market shifted. Rents sit in a predictable band—around $1,100 to $1,500—so the cash-on-cash math becomes reliable: think 6–12% cash-on-cash and rent-to-price ratios roughly 1% to 1.4%.

That predictability matters. It turns investing into a system instead of a gamble. I liked how Joe grades neighborhoods—A through F—and focuses on C+ or B- pockets where crime and vacancy are low enough to sleep at night but prices still allow upside.

Why the Midwest works right now

Affordability is the engine. Joe points out that markets like Detroit, Cleveland, and parts of the Midwest still have room to grow because buyers can actually afford to transact. While coastal markets buckle under stretched budgets, these cities keep moving. The result is steady appreciation—he cites mid-single-digit gains recently—combined with strong rent demand. That combo gives you both cash flow and equity growth.

The slow BRRR that’s actually repeatable

Forget the fantasy of always pulling 100% of your capital back on refinance. Joe embraces what the host calls the "slow BRRR"—a steadier, more realistic version of the buy-rehab-rent-refinance-repeat model. He’ll do light to medium cosmetic rehabs: paint, fixtures, flooring, landscaping, sometimes a furnace. Typical rehab checks ran $15–20k. Those improvements unlock higher rents and better tenants without blowing up risk.

What I found striking was the discipline. Instead of chasing every shiny strategy—short-term rentals, flips, creative financing—he doubled down on one repeatable formula until it scaled. That discipline, combined with reinvesting his cash flow and occasional strategic capital (including a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal during COVID-era provisions), created real momentum.

From one house hack to 31 doors

Joe’s first purchase was almost a safety play: a $103,000 single-family home he planned to live in before turning it into a rental. He fixed it up, found a tenant willing to pay $1,600 (more than his conservative estimate), and enjoyed steady cash flow for years. That early win was the psychological and financial fuel for the repeatable process that followed.

Running renovation projects from across state lines

Out-of-state investing is messy, no doubt. But it’s doable with systems. Joe built a resource list of more than 200 trusted vendors—contractors, electricians, CPAs, attorneys—and even got a builder’s license to cover some gaps. For clients who invest sight-unseen, his team records walkthrough videos and then either hires a general contractor to execute or sends individual subs for specific tasks. The result: out-of-state investors can scale without daily plane trips, but they still get controlled renovations that lift rent and reduce vacancy.

The human part: tenants and turnover

Numbers matter, but people make the system work. Joe reports very low vacancy and minimal eviction history across his portfolio—two evictions in five years—because he focuses on delivering a solid living experience. That often means spending modestly to add quality features tenants value, and then keeping them long-term. Higher retention equals lower rehab and turnover costs, which compounds returns.

Scaling, and then asking what comes next

Joe’s scaling strategy was straightforward: renovate, stabilize, refinance some equity out, redeploy. He and his wife lived on her income while plowing nearly every dollar of his pay and rental proceeds back into more purchases. By age 31 he had reached financial goals many people aim for decades to achieve. Yet what surprised me most was his next move: instead of checking out, he’s planning philanthropic projects and fintech collaborations—using the runway to pursue impact rather than retirement.

Practical takeaways for would-be investors

• Target affordable rent-to-price bands: 1%–1.4% rent-to-price tends to signal bread-and-butter deals.
• Favor light-to-medium rehabs: Paint, fixtures, floors—small upgrades often yield the best risk-adjusted returns.
• Build a local resource list: Contractors, property managers, and a reliable GC are worth more than a single deal.
• Treat scale as repeatability: Do one thing well and do it again, rather than chasing every strategy.

A final thought

Honestly, the most inspiring part of Joe’s story isn’t the dollar totals. It’s the slow, methodical tradecraft—an approach that feels available to more people than the headlines suggest. What if financial freedom came less from lightning strikes and more from steady, deliberate repetition? That possibility is quietly powerful.

• Invest in light, scalable improvements that maximize rent without skyrocketing risk.
• Use local partners and documented walkthroughs to manage out-of-state rehabs.
• Focus on affordable markets where rents and demand remain strong.

Maybe the real takeaway is this: systems beat genius. And if you build the right system, the life you want can feel less like a distant dream and more like an expected outcome.