All Forum Posts by: Abel Curiel

I am in Queens and my next property will be a house hack on a duplex with a finished basement. I would suggest doing some research on house hacking. BP has great info on it and Brandon Turner frequently mentions this on the Podcasts. I know what your market is like and its not an easy one to start off in but house hacking can help reduce your living expenses, create some cash flow and build up your savings. Best of luck to you!

I have to agree with the gentlemen above... I too live in a low-cashflow market (NY) and am anxiously waiting to sell my primary residence to move into a house hack. You should consider the same and run the numbers. Living in the smallest unit of your multifamily property can help you cash flow a bit while also saving more money each month thanks to the shortened living expenses. Best of luck to you!

Congratulations!!.. Wishing you a smooth rehab and many more flips!

Hello Miesha,

I don't think I'm alone when I say you should try to purchase a duplex as oppose to a single family home. Of course, this mainly depends on your market and your financial situation. In many markets, including my own, the cost of a multi-family home can be comparable to some single-family homes in several areas. If you are going to put down 3.5% on a multifamily home that costs about the same as a single family house, you can earn income from one of the units. If your family is growing (again, depending on your market), you may be able to find a duplex with a finished basement. In a case like this, your family can occupy the 1st floor & basement while renting out the 2nd floor. Just an idea.

Also, purchasing a live-in flip is a great idea. There are some excellent rehab deals that you could possibly live in while renovating. I personally love the house-hacking approach and will apply it to my next investment.

I hope this helped.

Best of luck,

Abel Curiel

Good Evening Bobby,

Congratulations on your BA and passing your real estate exam. I just wanted to offer you an amazing tip i've received from a few sources including BP podcasts THAT I ACTUALLY PUT IN USE TODAY! It worked just a couple of hours after putting it into action.

I have been in contact with a local broker for a few months as I have been going to her to help find me my first deal. Since I have developed a rapport with her I decided to just (randomly) email her today asking her if she or anyone in her firm needs any help on a volunteer basis. I offered to help out with any open houses, documentation preparation, sit-in on some meetings, help with tenant screening, and help out any investors that the firm currently does deals with. Within a couple of hours she responded asking me to meet her for an interview this weekend.

I am in the midst of my pre-licensure course to become an agent here in NY and figured I could volunteer a few hours of my spare time to get some hands-on experience while simultaneously helping out at the brokerage.

I am sure that with your credentials, you can get a volunteer position and possibly a part-time position just by reaching out to some local agents or brokers. You can start by contacting any agents or brokers who you've already had some kind of contact with in the past. This might be the best route for you since you'll have your hands full next year with school.

P.S.- mentioning to the broker what your goals in real estate are can't hurt either!

I hope this information was helpful.

Good Luck, 

Abel Curiel

I'm not speaking from experience but this has been mentioned in at least 3 books that i've read. Both costs are vital calculations to make and are often overlooked by new investors. You would have to contact your lender to ask if they will allow you to finance some or all of these costs. From everything i've read and from my own experience with my personal residence, these costs are generally out of pocket costs. 

I hope this was helpful. 

@Brandon L. Thanks for the feedback,  I'll try that next time I speak to her.

Good Evening,

I had a great introductory conversation with a broker this morning. We discussed local market trends, investment strategy, and the benefits of working with some of the local lenders as oppose to the bigger banks. 

During our conversation, I mentioned that I am about 1/3 of the way through my 75-hour pre-licensure course. She almost immediately offered to have me work for/with her once I pass the state exam. 

The way I saw it, she's either looking for someone (or anyone) to fill a spot in her brokerage OR I made a good first impression.

My question to the BP community is:

How do I offer to help out and add some kind of value in exchange for some hands-on experience/education?

This would be something I offer to do in my spare time while I'm in the process of getting licensed.

Some of my ideas have been to help out with open houses, sit-in while they screen tenants for some of their investor's rental props, and possibly help out with some paperwork at the office.

Any other suggestions?

I appreciate any and all feedback. Thanks!

I'm halfway through the rental property book, definitely recommend this one as well. After that im moving onto the book on managing rental props by Brandon Turner and his wife. You would love those too. Good luck in Buffalo! I've actually started checking out small multifamily deals in nearby Rochester, NY so hopefully all goes well for us upstate.

Hello Marlon Perez & welcome to BP! I've read some of the great advice from other members responding to your post. One thing that I would reiterate from another member's reply would be to check out the two books by J Scott (The book on flipping houses & the book on estimating rehab costs). Im also from NY (Queens) so some of the dollar amounts for labor don't translate to or market but may very well be somewhat accurate when translating to the Buffalo market. Best of luck to you!