In this episode of Agent to Investor, we sit down with Craig Curelop—author of The House Hacking Strategy, former BiggerPockets finance analyst, and founder of The FI Team. Craig shares how he escaped the grind of Silicon Valley by jumping headfirst into real estate, landing a job at BiggerPockets, and hacking his way to financial freedom one deal at a time.
We dive into:
How Craig house-hacked his way to $3,000/month in passive income
Why your first deal doesn’t need to be perfect—it just needs to get you in the game
What separates investor-friendly agents from traditional ones
The growth of co-living as a powerful wealth-building strategy
How Craig met his wife through real estate (and helped her house hack too!)
Lessons learned from building a real estate team—and a life—on his own terms
🔥 Key Takeaways:
90% of the world’s millionaires own real estate—so what’s stopping you?
House hacking isn’t just for beginners. It can be your launchpad to a 7-figure portfolio.
Creative sacrifices (like living behind a curtain) can pay massive dividends.
Real wealth is built by buying and holding—not trying to time the market.
If you're young, single, and broke… you're in the perfect position to get started.
Chapters-
00:00 Introduction
01:07 Craig's Journey into Real Estate
05:53 First House Hack Experience
11:02 Scaling Up: Second House Hack
12:49 House Hacking Strategies and Tips
15:52 Craig's Real Estate Portfolio and Career
17:44 Finding Love Through Real Estate
19:46 Becoming an Investor-Friendly Agent
23:09 Helping First-Time Home Buyers
25:17 Building Trust and Long-Term Relationships
26:13 The Power of House Hacking
29:06 Starting the FI Team
30:29 Partnering with Place
33:55 Becoming an Author with BiggerPockets
39:04 Advice for Young Investors
40:47 Personal Life and Hobbies
41:37 Upcoming Co-Living Conference