INVEST2FI
Craig Curelop aka The FI Guy
Real estate is undoubtedly one of the most profitable and thriving industries out there - especially if you are looking to achieve financial independence! It offers a wide variety of ways to invest actively and passively. If you are new to real estate investing and FI, and seek the proper guidance from experts, you are in the right place. Welcome to Invest2FI, hosted by Craig Curelop. In this series, we talk with real-life house hackers, real estate (and other!) investors and real people on a mission to become financially independent. Not everybody enjoys working a 9-5 job. No one wants to be stuck in analysis-paralysis feeling unsure how to finally jump into real estate. We teach you how to exit the rat race and work on living the life you want. This is the show for beginners and learners who want to achieve financial freedom through real estate. Whether you want to increase your savings, optimize your expenses, or build a prospering income source, we have helpful solutions. We talk all the tips and tricks for making your very first purchase. We discuss how you can build your skills on this initial transaction to close better deals in the future. This is also a show for techie types who are passionate about crunching numbers and the digital side of operating business and investments. If you are drawn to financial independence, we'll enlighten you with grounded, practical strategies for achieving real estate success. Each of our guests offers creative and practical strategies to begin a real estate investing career. They break down every single investing tactic you can emulate yourself. Receive essential lessons from their experiences as they open up about their real estate journey. They reflect on the moments when they got lucky or proved their intelligence and offer their fair share of “horror” stories too. Guests embrace their vulnerabilities and speak about challenges and failures, explaining how to overcome or avoid them. There is no better host for this podcast that Craig Curelop. His is a living testaments of what you should aspire to be in this industry. Achieving financial independence in his twenties, he take pride in his first-hand experiences through every facet of real estate. Craig specializes in a unique style of real estate investing called house hacking. He literally wrote the book on it: The House Hacking Strategy. This method purchases multi-unit properties and rents them out by portion. Craig is also the lead broker of The FI Team. If you are stuck in an unfulfilling corporate job, let this show bring you far more rewarding opportunities. Craig is your guide to making a major career shift and becoming part of the exciting world of real estate. Do not feel discouraged by the towering paperwork and complex principles. Equip yourself with the right knowledge and strategies, and you are good to go! Whether you are starting an active or passive venture, the key in real estate is proper training and a constant desire for growth. Invest2FI fortifies your confidence and provides you with a smooth, clear path to success. Listen to the podcast today!
Episodes
Mentioned books
Sep 29, 2021 • 1h 3min
Episode 53 - E-commerce Your Way To FI With Connor Gross
Today, we’re taking a slightly different route to FI, and lighting the way is serial entrepreneur Connor Gross. Instead of flipping houses, he flips online businesses! He co-founded the Cardly wallet when he was a college freshman. Now, he works full-time on what used to be just side hustles, and he is the co-host of The Next Generation Podcast.In this episode, Connor weighs in on the two paths of e-commerce: reselling products and creating new products. He goes through the process of starting an online store, sharing some of his strategies for pricing, social responsibility, branding, and platforms like Shopify and Amazon.So if you’re looking to start a side hustle, this is the episode for you!
Sep 23, 2021 • 59min
Episode 52 - Start Young And Go BRRRR With Cody Caswell
Cody Caswell is from a third-generation real estate investing family, and he bought his first property at 16(!) years old. He hated real estate during his college years but found his way back after interning as a commercial insurance broker. Now, he is 24 years old with a residential contractor license and 14 units under his belt.In this episode, Cody walks us through his childhood and the life lessons that he learned from his dad. He breaks down the numbers for his true “for real” deal and his strategy for BRRRRs. He also offers advice for people who want to replicate his success.Strap in for insight from an investor who started young and did things right!
Sep 15, 2021 • 58min
Episode 51 - Navigating Commercial Real Estate And Funding With Paul Moore
Paul Moore of BiggerPockets joins Craig and Zeona in today’s show to talk about his real estate journey. After a 5-year stint at Ford Motor Company, he became a serial entrepreneur and then a commercial real estate developer. Now, he is a managing partner at Wellings Capital, a podcast host, and an author.Paul goes a little bit into his books “The Perfect Investor” and “Storing Up Profits” as he explains why he jumped from residential to commercial real estate investing. He weighs in on the pandemic, triple net leases, and even offers marriage advice. Tune in until the very end for an interesting story on how he gave(!) his way out of a $2.5-million debt.
Sep 8, 2021 • 56min
Episode 50 - Starting A Wholesaling Business And Synergizing Your Life With Paul Thompson
In 2015, Paul Thompson realized that he needed income-generating assets so he decided to try properties. He got laid off from his job in 2017, but now, he has 50 single-family units and is transforming people’s lives through real estate and business ownership.In this episode, Paul looks back on his foray into real estate, breaks down his very first deal, and shares the steps he took to build his wholesaling business. He includes anecdotes to illustrate how much work it takes to invest in properties, offering advice for people who are looking into the rental strategy.
Sep 1, 2021 • 50min
Episode 49 - Brand New To FI And Accidental House Hacking With Garrett Terrell
Garrett Terrell is an agent at eXp Realty who became a broker in 2018, learned the ropes, and got good at selling residential real estate. At the end of 2019, he started getting into rentals and flips. Now, he has 8 units under his belt, and he has just recently discovered BiggerPockets!In this episode, Garrett talks about his “backwards house hacking” journey and breaks down the numbers for his first two homes. He shares some tips and lessons he has learned from renting out and remodeling properties. Tune in until the very end because we also weigh in on different perspectives regarding FI and on buying and holding property!
Aug 25, 2021 • 52min
Episode 48 - Retire Already Jeff White! 5x House Hacker & FI Team Agent Works B’c He Enjoys It!
After first learning about house hacking in the fall of 2016, Jeff White closed a 4-unit property in August 2017 and got to work. Now, he has 5 house hacks and is a member of the FI Team—all while holding down his W-2 job!In this episode, Jeff walks us through his bumpy start, how he dealt with tenants who were on a tourist visa, and his transition from multifamily to single-family homes. If you’re an aspiring house hacker, stick around because he shares tips and presents the advantages of not quitting your day job too early.
Aug 18, 2021 • 1h 5min
Episode 47 - Advanced Investing Techniques Right Off The Bat With Jonathan Hayek
Jonathan Hayek worked low-paying W-2 jobs for nearly a decade before getting into real estate investing. He househacked his first live-in flip, saw success, and closed 22 rental doors within 4 years(!) through luck, creativity, and hard work. He quit his teaching job in 2019 and has been doing real estate full-time since then.In this episode, Jonathan dives into the details of his first deal, the strategies he used to finance it, and the challenges that he struggled with. He shares what the market is like in Cheyenne, Wyoming as he talks about his next few properties. Tune in until the very end because he has a lot of gold nuggets on investing in real estate.
Aug 11, 2021 • 1h 1min
Episode 46 - Mic Drop Bootstrappin’ From Food Stamps To FI With Todd Baldwin
Necessity drove Todd Baldwin to get a job at the age of 12. He started his first business at 15, learned about real estate while he was in high school, and then bought his first house at 23. Two years later, he became a millionaire. How? He maximized the rent-by-the-room strategy!In this episode, Todd walks us through all that he has been able to achieve thanks to his do-or-die attitude. He goes into detail about his “for real” deal and some of his other properties, presenting the advantages and disadvantages of renting by the room.If you’re new to real estate investing and you’re looking to build wealth fast, this is the episode for you!
Aug 4, 2021 • 55min
Episode 45 - House Hacking With Section 8 Success With Avery Heilbron
Avery Heilbron is a data analyst for a life insurance company whose journey to FI began after a serendipitous purchase in a bookstore. He started house hacking in Boston, Massachusetts—which is an expensive market—and saw success. Now, he has a Youtube channel and does coaching on the side.In this episode, Avery shares the action steps he took for his first few properties and the lessons he learned after a negative experience with contractors. He dives deep into Section 8 and landlord-tenant laws, addressing some concerns that people have.There are advantages to investing in expensive markets. Listen and learn because you, too, can achieve a lot by taking advantage of what is available to you.
Jul 28, 2021 • 47min
Episode 44 - An OG House Hacker In Jersey With Wayne Loux
If you’re in it for the long haul, it’s possible to be financially independent through real estate even without being an aggressive investor!Wayne Loux first discovered FI in high school. But in college, he learned more about buy-and-hold, started crunching the numbers, and got licensed in 2007. He and his college roommate-turned-business partner house hacked their first property (before house hacking was even a thing!), and they have worked on several properties since then. Now, he has 12 doors under his belt and 4 more deals in the works!In today’s show, Wayne talks about that very first house hack, how they closed and then renovated it. He also explains some of the financing strategies he utilized for his other properties, offering advice for people who are interested in buy-and-hold.
