About this episode

Matthew Garland shares his journey from being laid off from TSA to building a successful rental portfolio and offers insights on real estate investing.

Before building an entire real estate portfolio, Matthew Garland was laid off from the TSA. He went from searching for contraband in your suitcase to searching for jobs ASAP. He had no degree, no office job experience, but he was good at connecting with people. He got a job as a loan officer and was making money hand over fist. Then the market crashed, his savings dwindled, his credit score plummeted, and he even got foreclosed on. It was time to build something real. That’s when a rich client of his introduced him to the “wealth hack” that helped him rebuild his life through rental properties. Now, you probably know Matthew as MG the Mortgage Guy, sharing as many insider lending secrets as possible so you can buy your next property. In this episode, he’s doing the same, telling YOU how to get preapproved now, what you need to get a lender to take you seriously on your first deal, and how he rebuilt his life, one property at a time. If you think you can’t build a real estate portfolio because you’re starting from zero, MG will show you how to get ahead and into your first deal, even if you feel way behind the starting line. In This Episode We Cover The “wealth hack” of the rich…

People in this episode

Host: BiggerPockets

Guest: Matthew Garland

Topics covered

• real estate investing
• financial recovery
• rental properties
• wealth building
• loan approval

Keywords

• real estate portfolio
• wealth hack
• loan officer
• preapproval
• investment properties

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: TSA

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• Buy 1 Rental Every 2 Years and Watch What Happens · June 5, 2026 · 31 min
• The Little-Known Loan That Helped Me Turn $9K Down into $150K in Equity · June 3, 2026 · 37 min
• 6 Green Flags Most Real Estate Investors Miss · May 29, 2026 · 24 min

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