House Hacking on Long Island

[Alex Cipollone]

Hello everyone! I hope you and your families are well.

I'm a 24-year-old full-time graduate student at Hofstra University (expected graduation 2021). I work as an IT technician, and I'm still living at home.

I plan on moving out when I complete school, and I want to house hack in Nassau County or Queens. I currently don't have enough saved for a down payment & reserves, but I project that I'll have enough saved up by the time I graduate.

While I'm in school, I want to learn about real estate and network as much as I can before making that jump. I've read four of Brandon Turner's books, The Book on House Hacking by Craig Curelop, listened to about 30 BP podcasts, and analyzed 25 deals.

For those of you who have house hacked in Nassau or Queens, what other things would you recommend learning about before making that jump? What books would you recommend? What qualities in lenders, real estate agents, contractors, etc. would you look for?