The Little-Known Loan That Helped Me Turn $9K Down into $150K in Equity

The Little-Known Loan That Helped Me Turn $9K Down into $150K in Equity

From BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast by BiggerPockets

June 3, 2026 · 37 min

About this episode

Matt Porcaro shares how he transformed a $9,000 down payment into $150,000 in equity using the FHA 203(k) loan.

This is arguably the best real estate investing loan on the market today. It funds the purchase, renovation, closing costs, and up to six months of mortgage payments, so you’re not on the hook when renovating a vacant property, all for 3.5% down. Today’s guest used it to put down just $9,000 on a house and, less than a year later, had $150,000 in equity. It changed his life and enabled him to become a real estate millionaire, even in an unaffordable market. Matt Porcaro (AKA The 203k Way) was working in construction in America’s most expensive market—New York City. He could only get preapproved for a loan of a few hundred thousand dollars, which doesn’t buy much in NYC. When a local investor told him about the FHA 203(k) loan, his entire world opened up, and changed his trajectory forever. Now, he has over $1,000,000 in equity and over $2,000,000 in real estate—after just starting with $9,000. Today, Matt explains the 203(k) loan from start to finish—how much money you need to put down, how to get preapproved, finding contractors, paying for the renovation, what to know before you start, and a new change that makes it even more lucrative in expensive areas of the country…

People in this episode

Host: BiggerPockets

Guest: Matt Porcaro

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BiggerPockets

Products: FHA 203(k) loan

Places: New York City

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