NY/NJ Newbie and CPA Advice

Eric Hrlbock

Rental Property Investor · Poughkeepsie, NY · Member since 2013 · 262 posts · 96 votes

2y

Hi Noah

I’m eric

If you still have friends and family in po

We have rentals and do flips in po , wapp ect

I also host a networking in real estate meet up for last 4 maybe 5 years

We’re not nyc but market is still hot up here

0 Reply

Kevin Walsh

Investor · Poughkeepsie NY · Member since 2018 · 33 posts · 21 votes

2y

Hey Noah!

I was in a similar situation as you. My first advice is don't quit your job unless you absolutely hate it. You're in a great field and you can save a ton of money by working and living at home. You can then use this money you save for a down payment on a multi-family home. Fannie Mae just introduced a new 5% down payment for multifamily homes which I think is a great opportunity.

I'm originally from Beacon and I invest in Poughkeepsie. I currently live in NYC attending business school. I own flips and do rentals all in the Poughkeepsie area.

You're on the right track just keep educating yourself and when it's time to pull the trigger on your first deal you'll be ready.

Any other questions feel free to PM me.

Kevin

1 Reply

Noah Clark

OP

Member since 2023 · 7 posts · 1 vote

2y

Quote from @Eric Hrlbock:

Hi Noah

I’m eric

If you still have friends and family in po

We have rentals and do flips in po , wapp ect

I also host a networking in real estate meet up for last 4 maybe 5 years

We’re not nyc but market is still hot up here

I still come to Poughkeepsie a lot so I would definitely be interested in attending a meetup there!

0 Reply

Noah Clark

OP

Member since 2023 · 7 posts · 1 vote

2y

Quote from @Kevin Walsh:

Hey Noah!

I was in a similar situation as you. My first advice is don't quit your job unless you absolutely hate it. You're in a great field and you can save a ton of money by working and living at home. You can then use this money you save for a down payment on a multi-family home. Fannie Mae just introduced a new 5% down payment for multifamily homes which I think is a great opportunity.

I'm originally from Beacon and I invest in Poughkeepsie. I currently live in NYC attending business school. I own flips and do rentals all in the Poughkeepsie area.

You're on the right track just keep educating yourself and when it's time to pull the trigger on your first deal you'll be ready.

Any other questions feel free to PM me.

Kevin

Great advice - thanks so much for the input Kevin! How is the market in Poughkeepsie for MFHs?

0 Reply

Kevin Walsh

Investor · Poughkeepsie NY · Member since 2018 · 33 posts · 21 votes

2y

Quote from @Noah Clark:

Quote from @Kevin Walsh:

Hey Noah!

I was in a similar situation as you. My first advice is don't quit your job unless you absolutely hate it. You're in a great field and you can save a ton of money by working and living at home. You can then use this money you save for a down payment on a multi-family home. Fannie Mae just introduced a new 5% down payment for multifamily homes which I think is a great opportunity.

I'm originally from Beacon and I invest in Poughkeepsie. I currently live in NYC attending business school. I own flips and do rentals all in the Poughkeepsie area.

You're on the right track just keep educating yourself and when it's time to pull the trigger on your first deal you'll be ready.

Any other questions feel free to PM me.

Kevin

Great advice - thanks so much for the input Kevin! How is the market in Poughkeepsie for MFHs?

it's great. lot of people still want to be within commuting distance of the city. hospitals, colleges, etc too so its great.

0 Reply

David M.

Morris County, NJ · Member since 2020 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes

2y

@Noah Clark Consider working in accounting to "support" what you want to do. Real estate investing is normally done by the "white collar" professional because they have the incomes.

Aside from that, until this "recent generation," employment was to provide for ones family and pursuits. Perhaps, the concept of "doing what you love" is taken too literally. You still have to make ends meet, at the very least.

Your plan appears to be do real estate "investing" as a job. Its not a job, its "investing."

You might consider how you can leverage your cpa into a different job or field.

Good luck.

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Eric Hrlbock

Rental Property Investor · Poughkeepsie, NY · Member since 2013 · 262 posts · 96 votes

2y

I have been a teacher for 20 years and did real estate as a hobby

I realized it was more that just a hobby or a second job or investing It’s something I loved.

I might be the minority in this but it’s freedom, it pays well, you see success tied directly how hard you work and life is short. I would agree w Kevin, don’t quit unless you hate it There is a lot of flexibility in real estate investing.

I started nights and weekends and it grew.

If you can do both, do it. If you love it like I do then go all in. There is alot of room for error and you can still have great success

1 Reply

Noah Clark

OP

Member since 2023 · 7 posts · 1 vote

2y

Quote from @David M.:

@Noah Clark Consider working in accounting to "support" what you want to do. Real estate investing is normally done by the "white collar" professional because they have the incomes.

Aside from that, until this "recent generation," employment was to provide for ones family and pursuits. Perhaps, the concept of "doing what you love" is taken too literally. You still have to make ends meet, at the very least.

Your plan appears to be do real estate "investing" as a job. Its not a job, its "investing."

You might consider how you can leverage your cpa into a different job or field.

Good luck.

Thank you for the response David! I probably wasn’t clear enough but I am still trying to work a job in order to save up money to invest on the side but I’m just considering jobs outside of accounting. Ideally I would want to work a job still in the real estate industry but I wasn’t sure how much having a CPA will benefit me in jobs outside of accounting.

0 Reply

Noah Clark

OP

Member since 2023 · 7 posts · 1 vote

2y

Quote from @Eric Hrlbock:

I have been a teacher for 20 years and did real estate as a hobby

I realized it was more that just a hobby or a second job or investing It’s something I loved.

I might be the minority in this but it’s freedom, it pays well, you see success tied directly how hard you work and life is short. I would agree w Kevin, don’t quit unless you hate it There is a lot of flexibility in real estate investing.

I started nights and weekends and it grew.

If you can do both, do it. If you love it like I do then go all in. There is alot of room for error and you can still have great success

Thanks for the response Eric! I am definitely trying to get involved in real estate outside of my 9-5 as much as possible! I am definitely grateful for the accounting experience I am getting but am just considering some other possibilities where I can get some more valuable skills/ exposure to real estate in my day job that will benefit me in real estate investing.

0 Reply

David M.

Morris County, NJ · Member since 2020 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes

2y

@Noah Clark I don't think you really need to work a job to learn about real estate. So many investors haven't. Honestly, that's sort of like saying you need to go back to school to learn about real estate --- what investor has done that...

Looking back at your OP, if you haven't you might want to see what part of your "extroversion" doesn't fit your current job duties. Also, you are just starting out, so your job duties should change. CPA's still have to interface with people and get/keep clients, i.e. your sales desire. For example, there are plenty of people, including accountants, trying to sell their services on BP (granted with various competencies...).

Even if you did a "sales" job, there is still paperwork and analysis to be done.

Maybe you just need to grow into a more managerial role or team leadership. This is really mentorship stuff...

Good luck.

0 Reply

Noah Clark

OP

Member since 2023 · 7 posts · 1 vote

2y

Quote from @David M.:

@Noah Clark I don't think you really need to work a job to learn about real estate. So many investors haven't. Honestly, that's sort of like saying you need to go back to school to learn about real estate --- what investor has done that...

Looking back at your OP, if you haven't you might want to see what part of your "extroversion" doesn't fit your current job duties. Also, you are just starting out, so your job duties should change. CPA's still have to interface with people and get/keep clients, i.e. your sales desire. For example, there are plenty of people, including accountants, trying to sell their services on BP (granted with various competencies...).

Even if you did a "sales" job, there is still paperwork and analysis to be done.

Maybe you just need to grow into a more managerial role or team leadership. This is really mentorship stuff...

Good luck.

Thanks - I appreciate the perspective.

0 Reply

Basit SiddiqiBusiness Member

Accountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes

2y

Correct, CPA license outside of Accounting/Assurance/Tax/Consulting won't mean much.

However, if the only thing holding you back is 2 exams, might as well try to get that done. You never know if you would want to fall back on it in the future.
Having a CPA license also does have some brand value.

[email protected]917-280-8544

Basit Siddiqi CPA4.979 Reviews

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Account Closed

CPA · NY · Member since 2023 · 891 posts · 157 votes

2y

Quote from @Noah Clark:

Hi BiggerPockets community!

My name is Noah Clark from Poughkeepsie, NY. I am currently living with family in Ridgefield Park, NJ in order to save up money to hopefully get started in real estate investing. I recently started a job working in audit after graduating college and I passed two of the four CPA exams so far. I have come to realize that I do not want to pursue a career in accounting but I am unsure on whether to finish the exams and stick with this job for the next year to obtain my CPA license. I am also trying to figure out what my next job would be. I am a very extroverted person so working in accounting is just not a good fit for me. I am considering working in sales or potentially another position that allows me to get some exposure to real estate. If anyone has any suggestions for my situation, I would really appreciate it!

As far as real estate investing goes, I am still very new to it but I have been educating myself with podcasts and books over the past few months. I am currently planning on staying in the NYC area while I start my career, save up capital and continue to educate myself on real estate, but eventually I would like to move out of New York to start investing somewhere more affordable. Ideally, I would want to buy a MFH so I can house hack and get experience as a property manager while saving money on rent. My biggest concern now is I am a bit lost on what markets to begin looking into. I have always wanted to live in a warmer climate (ideally closer to a beach) but these properties tend to also be expensive and are better for appreciation than they are for cash flow. There is also a lot of competition for MFH in some of the areas I have been looking at so I was just wondering if anyone has any input on markets I should look into or what I should be focusing on next.

Also, if any investor in the NYC area is looking for help, I would be happy to work for you in my spare time to gain a little bit of experience!

Thank you so much and I am super excited to get started in this journey!

Noah -

As correctly mentioned, holding a CPA license holds weight.

I came to America when I was just 21 years old and quickly got my CPA license.

I worked for small accounting firms before getting picked up by Deloitte.

I was with Deloitte for 14 years in their asset management practice. I joined RSM as audit partner in 2004 and had a very successful career there along with a couple other large accounting firms. I have built hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of practice(s) and have led very large national teams.

I have been in my own practice for 4+ years and am thoroughly enjoying it. There has never been a lack of work in this industry, and I have made tremendous connections in my career. One experience has always led to another bigger and better experience for me.

Thanks.

Kislay Shah CPA

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NY/NJ Newbie and CPA Advice

NY/NJ Newbie and CPA Advice

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