A few years back (six to be exact), I dreamed of being an overnight real estate success. This was due in large part to late night infomercials and the latest series of television shows showing people flip houses and getting rich. I read a few books (including Rich Dad Poor Dad) and ended up spending ~$16,000 on real estate training before I actually purchased my first property. I would not advise this approach.
During this time, I was also scouring the Internet to learn more about real estate investing. Somehow I stumbled upon BiggerPockets.com. At first, it seemed to be just another real estate website with some forums, but boy, was I wrong. Since then, BiggerPockets has been my go-to website for everything real estate investing related. See 8 reasons below as to why you should join BiggerPockets.
1. They feature social networking for real estate investors
One of the first things you can do on the site is create a profile. This can contain your basic contact information, experience and real estate goals. You can also receive awards, “friend” other real estate investors on the site, follow members that you are interested in and have other members follow you. This is a great way to meet lots of real estate investors, both local and around the globe, quickly.
2. There are a lot of really smart people on the forums
This was one of the biggest shocks to me as most people who claim to understand real estate investing are just trying to sell you something. When I started reading the forums, I could tell very quickly that this was a smart community that helped each other. I saw many of the same members contributing in the forums. In addition to the core contributors, there were a wide variety of other investors from different locations, backgrounds and experiences.
3. They offer free weekly investing podcasts
This one is huge. Where else can you get a free weekly podcast, featuring a variety of different real estate investors who provide you with real information without the sales pitch? In an industry that is filled with “gurus” around every corner and everyone is trying to sell you something, it is refreshing to see real knowledge being shared without trying to get your money.
4. They feature multiple free blog posts daily
One of the first things I do each day is pull up a feed of a handful of blogs I am interested it. I see it as my modern day newspaper. I sit down with my cup of coffee and read the blogs before starting my day. There are a handful of community members who contribute to the main blog, which means multiple new posts on a variety of real estate topics each day.
5. They also allow each member to have a free blog
One of the things I truly enjoy is giving back to others and sharing my experiences. Obviously I have a blog here, but it took me some time and money to setup and develop. BiggerPockets allows each member to publish their own blog for free. This is a great way to try out blogging and to share your experiences with the community.
6. They moderate and eliminate spam
The is one of the biggest things I appreciate. So many real estate websites are full of gurus promoting their course and it gets old quick. I’m not sure how they do it, but the staff at BiggerPockets eliminates 99% of spam from their website. This means you get quality content without the sales pitch.
7. They offer a free “Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Real Estate Investing“
One of the most difficult things to overcome when you first get into real estate investing is trying to wade through all of the information to find out how to get started. BiggerPockets makes this easy with their free book for new real estate investors.
8. They offer Real Estate Investment Calculators
The next most difficult things to do as a new investor is to figure out if something is a good deal. The team at BiggerPockets has provided a handful of calculators that makes it easy for anyone to run the numbers on a deal. In addition, they have a forum dedicated to Real Estate Deal Analysis and Advice where members can post deals and get feedback from the community. I actually used this forum to help analyze my first deal.
Overall, BiggerPockets is by far my favorite website for real estate investing. They are great for all levels of real estate investing expertise and have an awesome community of members. Don’t forget to follow me on BiggerPockets.
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Tom,
Well said, well said! BP really is your real estate manifesto for those interested in learning more about Real Estate. Yes, there are the REIA groups, Connected Investors (of which I am a base leader), and others who start their own REIA groups, and then there are the gurus, but in the end BP acts like the big brother you WANT looking over your shoulder on a deal, or a strategy or a tactic. Big round of applause to Joshua and Brandon for what has been built, and to all those behind the curtain who help build Bigger Pockets.
I am out there, and I love the fact that any Real Estate investor can connect with me as well and teach me something new that I have not learned in my eight years as a Real Estate Investor.
Great post Tom!
Jack
Tom , this is an awesome review of BP! Thanks so much for writing this up. I’m gonna go share this like crazy 🙂