He Reached Financial Freedom in 3 Years by Renting Bedrooms (Here's How) | EP 48

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