BiggerPockets Podcast 434: How HGTV’s Scott McGillivray Started a Real Estate Empire with No Job, No Money, and No Experience (Part 1)

Do you like watching home improvement shows such as Income Property, Vacation House Rules, and Buyers Bootcamp? If so, you’re in luck! Joining us on the podcast is HGTV host Scott McGillivray! Scott has been hosting some of the best real estate investing and construction shows for over a decade now, and if you like BiggerPockets, you’ve probably seen an episode of one of Scott’s shows!

Scott’s investing career started long before his TV network deals. As a student in college, Scott accidentally stumbled upon his landlord’s mortgage statement of account. He realized that him and his roommates were paying a few hundred dollars over what their landlord was paying monthly for a mortgage. That was the lightbulb moment for Scott. It was time to get into real estate investing.

While in college with no job, very little money, and no experience, Scott bought a house and moved out of his rented room. Now he wanted more. Over the next few years Scott started amassing more and more rentals, taking as many financing options as he could get his hands on. By the time he was 25, he already had 25 units and a significant amount of profit coming in every year.

This only pushed Scott to strive for bigger and better deals. Now Scott owns hundreds of rentals, and spends his time between Florida and Canada, finding more deals, and fixing up more rentals.

Scott is a tried and true investor, one who has gone through different market swings, different fads, and many different tenants. While he’s only in his early 40s, he has amassed an extensive knowledge of the real estate space. It’s no surprise he’s one of Brandon’s real estate heroes!

If you liked this episode be sure to tune in this weekend for part 2 of Scott’s interview!