Intro from an Architect in NYC

[Elliot Grochal]

Hello BiggerPocket members,

My name is Elliot, I am newly licensed architect based in New York City. I have been working in architecture for over 7 years, doing a wide variety of projects including theme parks, department stores, mixed-use residential, and corporate offices.

I have always been interested in houses since I was a kid. On most Sundays my father and I would go to 3-6 open houses just to walk through the space and see the details/history. I suppose that’s where my love of architecture began. Now that I have been in the industry long enough, I am realizing that architects play backseat to developers when it comes to the control of a project. Seeing this paradigm shift in the industry has made me more curious about development, and after reading several books (The Real Estate Game by William Poorvu, and Confessions of a Real Estate Entrpreneur by Jim Randle) I am very interested in moving to the development side, while using my architectural background to my advantage.

My first goal (thank you for the articles BP), is to buy a 2-4 unit building in the NYC area with a first time homebuyer FHA loan, and hopefully use a 203K loan for the renovation, and use it for my first positive cash-flow property. I am also interested in Philly area, but am nervous about doing a long distance investment (although Philly is only 2 hours away). I need to read more about long distance investing, as I know there are a few articles on BP about this.

I am also interested in teaming with developers in need of architectural services.

My question to BiggerPocket members is first, has anyone done a deal like this in the NYC area, and second, does anyone have broker/agent recommendations to help my find a property like this? Thanks, and happy to be a part of the BP community! 

[Elliot Grochal]

Thanks for the support @James Wise @Nancy L. @Javier Diaz @Account Closed !  Looking forward to writing more about my first deal soon... I'll probably have some questions for you guys then!  In the meantime, if you need anything answered about NYC, let me know.  Best,

Elliot