The Co-Living Approach: Craig Curelop Innovates Real Estate Investment

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

10 Jul 2025

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“You don’t need thousands of doors. You just need a few houses that can cash flow $1,000 each, and you’re making meaningful progress,” says Craig Curelop, founder of The FI Team at eXp Realty, who has developed a real estate investment strategy that’s solving housing affordability while delivering impressive returns.

Curelop’s approach, buying large single-family homes and renting them by the bedroom, is creating a win-win-win for investors, residents, and communities across the country. With returns that consistently outperform traditional rental strategies, his co-living model is gaining momentum as housing costs continue to rise nationwide.

From Corporate Dropout to Real Estate Innovator

Curelop’s journey began when he was “young and in corporate America, realizing that I didn’t want to climb that corporate ladder.” Initially drawn to the startup world, he explains, “I used to want to be the entrepreneur who would create the next Facebook or Amazon. Then I realized I don’t need to be that person, and I don’t want to be that person. I just wanted to be the under-the-radar wealthy individual that maybe no one really knows about.”

This realization led him to real estate investing as “the easiest and most proven way to get there.” His career took a significant turn when he joined BiggerPockets, a prominent real estate education platform, and moved from San Francisco to Denver. This move coincided with his first house hack, establishing the foundation for his investment strategy.

The Evolution of House Hacking

Curelop’s approach began with traditional house hacking: buying a duplex, living in one unit, and renting out the other. But when that wasn’t immediately cash flowing, he got creative: “I actually rented out my bedroom on Airbnb while I slept behind the curtain in the living room,” he recalls. “At the time, I was 24 and scrappy and single, and I could do that. I recognized my situation, and I wanted to use it to my advantage versus my disadvantage.”

This scrappy beginning evolved into a systematic approach. A year later, he purchased a five-bedroom house, lived in one room, and rented out the others. “I was making like $1,500 a month while living for free. Plus my other house was cash flowing me about $1,000 a month. So in a little over a year, I had $2,500 of passive income from two houses.”

Curelop continued this strategy year after year, eventually becoming a real estate agent to help others implement the same approach. “I saw that it worked consistently every time,” he says. “What other investment works reliably and generates 100% or more return every time? They simply don’t exist.”

The Co-Living Revolution

Today, Curelop’s focus has shifted toward co-living investments, also known as “rent by the room” investing. This strategy involves buying large single-family homes, potentially adding bedrooms, and renting each room individually.

“It’s a win-win-win all around,” Curelop explains. “The investors receive a higher return on investment. The residents enjoy a great house in a great neighborhood with a great yard for about half the price of a typical place. And the cities benefit because it increases housing affordability.”

While the concept remains similar to his original house hacking approach, the scale has changed. “Now instead of four or five bedrooms, you need to acquire six, seven, eight, even ten bedrooms. That’s when you really start generating substantial cash flow.”

This evolution has been partly driven by market conditions. In Denver, Curelop notes, “The five-bedroom properties don’t work as well anymore. You have to go higher—six, seven, eight bedrooms—and you can still cash flow. We’re seeing investors generating $800 to even $2,000 to $3,000 monthly in cash flow in an appreciating market.”

Regulatory Tailwinds

Recent legislative changes have created favorable conditions for co-living investments in Colorado. “In Colorado, they passed a law about a year ago that prevents local jurisdictions from restricting the number of unrelated people living in a house,” Curelop explains. “Policymakers recognize that affordability is becoming unmanageable, and the quickest way to improve housing affordability is allowing more people to share a house.”

This regulatory shift acknowledges the practical realities of housing supply constraints. “Building more houses takes significant time, money, and space,” Curelop notes. “With our current infrastructure, we could multiply available housing by six to eight times if we converted these houses into bedroom-based rentals.”

Who’s Living in Co-Living Spaces?

The demand for co-living arrangements comes from diverse demographics. Curelop identifies several key groups:

1. Young professionals just out of college, not earning substantial incomes yet, but wanting to live in desirable locations
2. People experiencing life transitions such as divorce or widowhood who need both housing and community
3. Individuals in recovery who are reestablishing themselves but may face employment challenges due to past issues
4. Increasingly, couples looking for affordable housing options

While most residents are single individuals, Curelop notes they’re seeing “more and more couple inquiries,” though they typically only accommodate couples in master bedrooms.

Beyond Denver: A National Movement

The co-living model is gaining traction well beyond Denver. Curelop recently hosted a co-living conference that drew participants from across the country. “People flew in from many different states,” he says, mentioning operators in New York, Boston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville, El Paso, and Columbus.

“If a city has more than 50,000 residents, I believe there’s potential for a co-living house there,” Curelop asserts.

One key lesson he’s learned concerns parking. “We prioritize maintaining good relationships with neighbors, so parking is crucial,” he explains. “We ensure each house has adequate parking spaces, matching the number of rooms. If there are seven rooms, we need seven parking spots.” These don’t necessarily need to be off-street, but sufficient parking is essential for neighborhood harmony.

Scaling the Model

Curelop and his team have developed a turnkey solution for investors interested in the co-living strategy. “As a real estate agent in Colorado, I regularly help people purchase these homes,” he explains. “We ensure you’re buying the right house, in the right location, with the right layout.”

Their comprehensive service extends beyond acquisition: “We assist with managing renovations to add bedrooms and bathrooms. We help furnish the property and set it up in our systems. We also provide ongoing management.”

This turnkey approach allows investors from anywhere to achieve “eight to 12% cash-on-cash returns with Denver-type appreciation” without handling property management themselves.

Looking ahead, Curelop plans significant expansion: “We’re planning to acquire these homes in bulk—20, 30, 40 properties in select cities—raising capital and likely creating an investment fund offering investors a high return. We’re targeting a 10 to 12% preferred return.”

Building a Co-Living Community

Beyond direct investment opportunities, Curelop is developing educational resources for independent implementation. “We’re creating a community mastermind group and course on implementing our strategy,” he says. “Whether you want to do it independently, have us do it, or want our guidance, we offer options tailored to investor preferences.”

His team hosts monthly meetups in Denver, maintains an online mastermind group, and plans their next Co-Living Conference for June 5-6, 2026.

As housing affordability challenges persist nationwide, Curelop’s co-living investment strategy offers a solution benefiting investors, residents, and communities. By maximizing existing housing stock while providing affordable living options, this approach addresses one of real estate’s most pressing challenges.

For investors seeking strong returns in appreciating markets, Curelop’s model demonstrates that effective strategies often involve using existing properties more efficiently rather than simply acquiring more properties. As he puts it: “You don’t need thousands of doors. You just need a few houses that can cash flow $1,000 each, and you’re making meaningful progress.”