Is New York Real Estate Too Risky? Inside the Five Borough Market with Darnell Credell

Darnell Credell (00:00)

you know, I’ve been doing everything for a long time. I’m like a veteran on everything. Real estate is number one. You need real estate to breathe, eat, survive. So I think everybody should be in real estate. I mixed it up. You know, I get plays with the real estate. I do film production. I edit. I’m, I’m, you know, I got a record label. I got artists, black car entertainment.

Dylan Silver (01:53)

Hey folks, welcome back to the show. Today’s guest Darnell Credell is a real estate agent based in New York. He’s also a music artist and film producer. Thank you for joining us today, Darnell. Welcome to the show.

Darnell Credell (02:04)

How you feeling? Good morning.

Dylan Silver (02:06)

I’m doing great, man. It’s great to have you on here. And you’re in New York. And of course, when we talk about the five boroughs, this is one of the most, maybe the most competitive area of real estate in the country. And so I’d like to start there, you know, for folks who may just be getting into real estate in New York or maybe getting licensed, what feedback would you have for them to where they could get started?

Darnell Credell (02:28)

It’s really tough market. I feel like if you network with the right people, ⁓ you could get any job done. ⁓ It’s kind of like tight-knit and well-established in New York. Being that it’s the highest financial city in the country, ⁓ it’s just a lot of networking, a lot of networking, lot of patience, and a lot of work.

Dylan Silver (02:54)

Absolutely. You know, when I talk with folks who are, you know, active in real estate across really every segment of real estate, the thing that has stuck out to me the most is, yeah, you have to know how to take a deal from the cradle to the grave and you have to have, you know, regional specific knowledge, but you really also have to be able to leverage a network and your sphere of influence and then constantly be expanding in that regard, always expanding your sphere.

Darnell Credell (03:21)

Absolutely, absolutely. It’s basically like, you know, like I said before, if you basically network and, ⁓ you know, get everything prioritized, you know what you have to do. It’s kind of like doggy doggy out here.

Dylan Silver (03:39)

Now,

when folks are trying to identify exactly which area of New York they want to be in, exactly what type of client they want to work with, and then also too, which price point they want to be at, because of course in New York, you’ve got such a huge range of price points for even small apartments, right? It’s just a very niche market. Would you advise that they get super specific into one area of one borough, or can folks be generalists? Is that possible to be more of a

generalist in New York.

Darnell Credell (04:11)

can’t be generalist because you know, some communities is kind of hard because based on your salary and based on the geographic part of it, you just can’t come out here and just live anywhere. It’s not set up that way. It’s set up cultural areas, economic areas. You definitely gotta do your homework when living in New York. It’s very diverse. You got…

Manhattan, Bronx, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, every borough got their own kind of own. I mean, it’s whatever you prefer. It’s basically your budget and your preference.

Dylan Silver (05:37)

Now for folks who are trying to build a brand for themselves and differentiate, that’s one of the trickiest things in any market, right? Especially as a newer agent, why would someone go with me if I’m a new agent versus someone else? But it’s even heightened in an area where there’s increased competition like New York and the five boroughs. You’re involved in a number of different businesses outside of real estate. What advice would you have for folks who are trying to build a brand in New York?

Darnell Credell (06:06)

Get with the right team. I stress that. Strategy, homework, definitely knowing who you’re around because that’s the one thing that could make you or break you, your team and the people who you’re around. Definitely through your knowledge, your homework, and you go by I, and you go by energy. I network, I invest.

That’s definitely important. That one thing is definitely important.

Dylan Silver (06:33)

Now, being that New York, know, of course, a much higher price point to entry than most other markets. Is there a ⁓ solid real estate investor community in New York? And, you know, where would you find folks who are interested in investing in real estate? Is this kind of a behind closed door, you know, type of community? Or do you have folks who, you know, are active or looking to get active investing in?

real estate that may not be coming from a real estate background at all. They may have a job unrelated to real estate.

Darnell Credell (07:06)

could, anybody could definitely get into the real estate game. It’s like, you know, it’s, it’s a, it’s a money game. It’s big bank take little bank. You know, if you got the money to invest and you have the knowledge to invest and you couldn’t invest in a property, slip it, just like any other real estate agent or broker, you know, it just all depends on, know, your knowledge and your knowledge in the real estate, the real estate industry.

Dylan Silver (07:29)

Now I would like to pivot a bit here Darnell and ask you specifically about some of the other ventures that you’re involved in, music artist, film producer. And when people talk about real estate in general, there is a little bit of a cyclical or very much so a cyclical nature to real estate. When you’re involved in some of these other realms, ⁓ music and film, do you use these as ways to kind of balance that cyclical nature of real estate?

cases juggling multiple plates at once, right? And having your hand in the fire and in real estate and in music and in film simultaneously.

Darnell Credell (08:09)

you know, I’ve been doing everything for a long time. I’m like a veteran on everything. Real estate is number one. You need real estate to breathe, eat, survive. So I think everybody should be in real estate. I mixed it up. You know, I get plays with the real estate. I do film production. I edit. I’m, you know, I got a record label. I got artists, black car entertainment.

you can find me at Donald Credel IG.

C-R-E-D-E-L,

I do it all. even, you know, I always try to network with the people I’m dealing with and trying to get them to, you know, look into the properties I have. You know, with the people I deal with in the film industry, I try to network them if they need housing. I try to network them with the right people. So basically, I kind of like do everything with it. I kind of mix everything together to just make a living.

Dylan Silver (08:59)

Now, when we talk about…

you know, spheres of influence. I’ve seen this in businesses outside of real estate music and film. Like for instance, I’ve seen people who are military or people who are medical professionals and they’ll start to develop, you know, a sphere of influence in that realm that then translates into real estate. You mentioned that there at the end, you know, a little bit of a mixing of the different spheres, right? Are you finding people in music and in film who are then either interested in purchasing

real estate or talking to you about investing in real estate?

Darnell Credell (09:35)

but you know, sometimes, usually I’m the one who bring the information to them. if I know you want a certain level and you know, you’re trying to, you’re trying to network through the real estate market in New York. ⁓ I kind of take the approach to, to talk to people and to really kind of like, you know, network with them to try to buy the properties I have to make a fee off of it, you know, to make a commission offer it. So,

So yeah, that’s the situation.

Dylan Silver (10:37)

Now, I would wanna ask, and I would be remiss if I didn’t ask you about this, when people talk about being active in real estate in general, a lot of people, even in New York, even people living in New York, realize that this is such a competitive market, right? And it’s also a very much tenant-friendly space that for folks who are looking at investing specifically, they’re like hands off in some ways, in the five boroughs specifically.

That’s not to say that it’s impossible, because I’ve had guests on here that are specifically investing or working with investors in one of the five boroughs. But it does seem to be maybe a little bit trickier. What’s been your experience working with investors in New York? And do they have a very specific mentality or something that makes them maybe more tolerant of the risks in New York?

Darnell Credell (11:28)

⁓ You know, New York is a risky market. It’s shaking New York because, you know, inflation, high interest rates, sluggish job markets. So, like I said, you need a lot of experience coming into this city dealing with real estate. You know, you have a lot of big corporations.

Dylan Silver (11:46)

Yeah.

Darnell Credell (11:50)

or buying into the, know, properties, stopping, you know, the smaller guys from either invested in properties or, you know, stuff of that nature. Donald Trump earlier this year signed an order basically stopping them corporations from buying them houses and stuff like that. And, you know, put a block on them. So, you know, for people like me, especially independent,

agents, it’s kind of difficult for, for us, for everybody, you know what saying? It’s because we like kind of on the low end of everything. So, you know, I just tell people if you come into New York to invest and I’m getting into this, you know, market, just, you know, do your research.

Dylan Silver (12:33)

Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, when we talk about the experience level necessary in a market like New York, you’ve got I mean, I would think you’ve got to have experience or the experience of those around you supplement you if you’re if you’re just getting into the space, right? One question that I have, and as we’re talking about experience in New York, there’s so much interest right now across the country in some alternative asset classes outside of, you know, single family homes, I’ve seen even mom and pop investors get into self storage units, right? I’ve seen

mom and pop investors get into like alternative or accessory dwelling units, ADUs. And I’ve also seen people get into where there’s more land availability. I’ve seen people get into some asset classes like mobile homes, know, RV parks. And, you know, I’m probably missing a lot. Warehouses, industrial space. Are you seeing any of that momentum either from folks in New York or from folks who are in New York investing outside where they’re looking at? Is there any

non-traditional real estate that I could potentially invest in? Are you seeing any interest in those realms?

Darnell Credell (13:41)

Definitely, definitely. You have, you know, the company I work for, Five Borough, they kind of, you know, they buy into anything that’s real estate. Lots, warehouses, storefronts. Real estate is everything. You can get into a lot in real estate as far as buying whatever you need for property for somebody to use and somebody to pay rent or to somebody to buy.

Dylan Silver (14:51)

Yeah, I mean when we talk specifically about how diverse real estate is, one of the key things that I’ve noticed hosting this show is you really have to, if you’re starting out, tie in your passions with also what’s viable in your area. So for instance, if I’m in Texas where I’m licensed, a couple of years ago, going back five years, fix and flip was really, really hot. Now,

It’s a little bit tougher to flip. may be coming back, but I may be looking more at buy and hold, right? On the other hand, if I’m really passionate about hosting, and I love the idea of being a host and having a ⁓ nice place set up where folks can enjoy ⁓ my residence or someplace that I have a vacation home in, a short-term rental might be great for me. On the flip side though, someone who doesn’t like hosting people and doesn’t want to have to deal with constant communication

and changeovers, that’s not gonna be a great fit for them. In your business, personally, as a real estate agent, have you found one niche that you’re particularly passionate about or that’s worked out really well for you over the years?

Darnell Credell (16:00)

I do a lot of, affordable housing, mental health, section eight programs, stuff of that nature. I kind of try to, help the low income families find housing and for independent, agent and you my status, I kind of find a niche in actually, you know, going that way, going that route to actually earn some paper while still helping out.

you know, the community. So I make some money, I feel good about it. I still concentrate on the homes and the commercial buildings and stuff like that. But like I said, it’s very tough, it’s very hard. And that’s the niche that I see myself going into. And I’ve been doing that for some time now. Going that route.

Dylan Silver (16:44)

We

are coming up on time here, Darnell. Any new projects that you’re working on and then as well, what’s the best way for folks to get in contact with you?

Darnell Credell (16:52)

Basically, you could go on the website, Five Borough, New York City. They got a lot of homes in New Jersey, New York, a of commercial buildings. The team helps you with certain things on the back end, like help you with your credit and look into banking issues and stuff like that. it’s basically a whole community that’s trying to get you into the real estate that you’re looking for.

Other than that, I’m still on the grind. I have the film coming out.

You know, you can check my social media, Darnell Credell. That’s D-A-R-N-E-L-L underscore Credel, C-R-E-D-E-L. It’s really with two L’s, but on Instagram, it’s one L. But just Google Darnell Credel. I got TikToks, Snapchat, all related under my name. You know, the music that I’m coming out with is kind of cool too, because it’s like more so got accepted and sync licensing.

I’m scoring the back of movies and the film that I’m shooting with Connor Smith. Basically, the music is going to be in the background of that. So like I said, I got a film background, but real estate is number one. You need that. Everybody that’s important to have any kind of motion going on, the first thing they’re going to invest in is some real estate. That’s just common sense. yeah. So yeah.

Dylan Silver (18:16)

Absolutely. Darnell,

thank you so much for coming on the show here. Thank you for telling us about your journey and then also how folks can get started or start out a career if they’re getting started as an agent or investing in the five boroughs. Thanks for taking the time today. Thanks for coming on the show.

Darnell Credell (18:40)

Thank you, I appreciate you. Have a good day.