I Am Thankful for Biggerpockets Because...
What are you thankful for Biggerpockets this year?
For me I am thankful to BP because...
1. I sold 3 houses to 2 BP members this year
2. I acquired a wholesale deal from a BP member netting me $28K profit
3. I added 200 buyers in my database
4. I met 4 private lenders with cumulative capital of at least $1 Million
5. I met at least 10 solid cash buyers with verifiable proof of funds
6. I built my Acquisition team (@Jai Sookhakitch & @Daniel I. ) and Marketing & Sales teams (@David Perez )
7. I got numerous wholesale deals from other wholesalers (several apartment buildings, single family homes, even land)
8. I got 2 interns working basically for free so they will learn the business (this saves me over $1,600/month in labor cost)
9. I met several real estate agents who brought me several deals some of which are NOT on the MLS
10. I JV'ed with several people from different states (CA, TX) and opened up investment opportunities in those states for me
These are just the things I can remember...and this does not even count the new things I've learned this year because of BP. Thanks @Joshua Dorkin , @Brandon Turner and the rest of BP Nation for making BP a very useful and helpful real estate community!
P.S. I bought Brandon's Little to No Money Down Investing book and I learned something new from it as well. I can't believe how well written the chapter on his book about wholesaling. Being an experienced wholesaler, I was pleasantly surprised.
I am thankful for so many things after finding BP.
- for the wealth of information available, for the supportive community
- for keeping me motivated in this tough NYC market - have 1 SFH, 1 multifamily and closing another 1 SFH in 2 weeks!
- for giving me new ideas and courage to move outside of my comfort zone - getting ready to invest out of state!
- for the awesome podcast every week!
- for the opportunity to meet like minded individuals.
...the podcasts. They are enjoyable.
...Brandon's wardrobe
...great tips for newbies like me
...forum posts and ability to Q&A with investors and experts across the country has allowed me to expand portfolio from 0 to 7 units in less than 12 months and netting $1500/month.
1. Great Info ..
2. Great network
3. Keeps me in RE mode and considering opportunities to take my business to the next level!!
I'm thankful for BP because
- it has enhanced my abilities as a broker as I've learned more about the many nuances of real estate investing
- I now have a reliable network of people to ask advice, who understand when I need to ***** & moan, and will celebrate my successes with me. Plus they're just cool friends to have!
- it inspired my "invest in the Midwest" roadtrip this summer where I got to hang out with BPers in Indiana & Ohio.
- it lets me build street cred by helping others
- and I've done deals with some great new clients (thanks @Scott Trench & @Theresa W. )
Thanks for all the podcasts, posts, and people. I can't wait to see what my list looks like next year.
I am thankful for BP because I feel like if all these people are successful, then I can be too. I have just started to scratch the surface of real estate investing and I'm glad there is a place where I can go for answers.
I've often been very thankful for @Joshua Dorkin 's failures and bad experience with REI which in the end was a main motivator for making BiggerPockets happen in the first place. It's incredible to have a safe place to come to daily where people look out for others best interest when it comes to this field. Josh you've done an amazing job of creating a place that weeds out the those who try to prey on the less informed when trying to succeed in real estate investing. I've often said that BP is a gold mine because it truly is. It's a wealth of information. All aspects of it. The podcasts, the articles, the blog posts, forums, the calculators, the books, etc. Everything is spot on!
It's amazing to come across such a large number of people who "think like I do" when it comes to wanting to secure their own financial future and by doing it through real estate investing. I am thankful to @Brandon Turner for reaching out to me early on when I had only been a member for a short period of time and how both you and Josh have embraced me as part of the BP family. I can't say how grateful I am for that.
Some of who I would consider "elite" members of BiggerPockets I'm now proud to say I'm friends with. These are solid people and members I can't say how much I've enjoyed spending time with. Brandon, @Will Barnard , @J Scott , you all came to NYC because I asked and I can't thank you enough for that. The time I've had the privilege to spend with you and your families has been amazing. @Brian Burke for opening up my eyes to just how powerful BP as a medium can be. I'll never forget reading over a thread of a deal you did with BP members for an apartment complex and was truly amazed. It changed my entire perspective of the site in one thread.
I'm also thankful for local BP members that have become friends such as @Alok Sood , @Shawn McEnteer, @Daniel Leon , @Kay Lee , @Steve Buchanan , and many others that I should mention however I'd be here forever writing this. I am thankful for all those members on BP who rely upon me and choose/have chosen to work with me in their desire to find a good income property or a potential flip.
I'll end with this. I'm thankful and grateful for all that I've crossed paths with here on BP. You've all enriched my life in many ways so if we haven't met or spoke yet then reach out to me and say hello. I'll let you know ahead of time I'll be thankful for that too.
-
Real Estate Agent NJ (#0897533)
- 862-208-2287
- http://www.ReiMeetupTampa.com
- Podcast Guest on Show #48
Wow…where to begin!!
I am thankful to BP because it has opened my eyes to a whole other world of REI. Although I am a newbie and yet to do my first deal (still working on it) and still in the learning phase, I am truly thankful I found this site.
I am on this site every day, because there is always something to learn. I cannot thank everyone enough who takes time out of their busy day to contribute, it is a blessing to me, being that I am unable to attend the meet ups or network regular basis.
One day I will get there and I will sing praises from the mountain top about this awesome site which is BIGGERPOCKETS!!!
Thank you all!!
It has helped me build confidence in my Investing!
Originally posted by @Frankie Woods:
Prior to BP, I had acquired 3 cash flow neutral/negative SFR properties in 7 years of playing this game. Since finding BP about a year ago, I have closed on two 4-plexes that are heavily cash flow positive in the last 3 months
Awesome experience there Frankie! You should share your experience in a separate forum post so BPers can also learn from it.
Because in the short amount of time in which I have been exploring how to get started as an investor, I have received a tremendous amount of support and advice, and most of it within a few minutes of posting.
...I've also filled what would be otherwise pretty boring long commutes with highly entertaining and educational podcasts - I'm probably about 1/4 of the way through all of them and listening daily.
BP is a fantastic resource, and I now recommend it to everyone I speak to who has any interest in REI. Thanks.
Great place to network about real estate investments.I am thankful to BP because it is absolutely free information to keep pushing other real estate information.
@Wendell De Guzman , actually I have been: http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/146... . It's actually been a pretty good learning tool for myself, but I was inspired by your very popular thread "real life of a real estate investor". I hope it helps some folk down the road :) I will update it shortly with info from the latest couple of deals!
I'm thankful to BP for the wealth of info that is available through your site and podcasts. I just started listening to the podcast and joined the forum this past October and I know with me continuing to use the forum communicating with like minded people I will succeed this go around in real estate investing.
Can't wait to see what will happen in 2015.
It provides education, guidance and encouragement. It has new and experienced investors (worldwide) from every REI niche. Questions (simple or complicated) are answered.
It's a nice place to meet with like-minded people. It's my real estate family (here to help and protect. Spats do happen, but we eventually make up-LOL).
Thanks Josh, Brandon, Moderators and Team!
I am thankful for meeting such great people on BP. Sharing goals and ideas.
I discovered BP podcast and started listening to every episode. The information I revived from those shows led me to take massive action and buy 4 rentals in two years at the age of 27. This site/podcast has changed my life! I never knew that real estate was a possiblility for the every day person. This site has given me and my wife hope for the future. So thankful!!
Always thankful to BP!
1. Deals! Bought a home run deal from a BP member and sold a good deal to another!
2. Networking! Local meetup group has been something I look forward to every month! I ALWAYS learn something new!
3. Book! @Brandon Turner 's new book is awesome, great info in there for sure! Get it NOW!
4. Podcast! Somehow @Joshua Dorkin and Brandon let me back on... thanks guys!
5. Friends! Lunch with Brandon, many lunches with many BP members, lots of coffee and lots of beers! Met some great people this year, and will keep up these relationships for a long time!
Thanks as usual guys!!
I congratulate to your for your achievement and success of your business.
I hope these will also work for me.
I am thankful that I avoided spending $5000 dollars to a Guru because of a friend that told me about Bigger Pockets!
I'm grateful to BP because help I got here on the forum in 2013 gave me the knowledge base, insight, and courage to foreclose on a property I held the mortgage note on. A private mortgage situation...one of those things a really savvy investor never would have agreed to. But at the time, I just didn't know. It was five and a half years ago, I knew a lot less about investing than I do now, and I was scared of the stock market. Making the loan seemed like a win-win, and I was newly divorced in the midst of a bad (and worsening) economy....
To explain a bit more, becoming a private mortgage lender was not something I went looking for. It was a request put in front of me--completely unexpected. I looked at it....It seemed like way to get better returns than a CD would ever give me, and (though I'm ashamed to admit now that I let emotion lead me in this decision) it was a way to help a family-friend-plus-kid stay in the family home after a divorce. Of course, you can write the rest of this story, right? The family friend stopped paying after a couple years, and an attitude of entitlement set in. "You can't take my house away....You'd never do that, would you? I thought you were a good person. Don't you know how many problems I have?"
Confused and shaken, I went to the forum here to find out what in the world I could do about the situation. Was there a way to sell the note? Was I stuck? How could I get out of this no-win deal? What were my legal rights?
Immediately, I heard back on the forum from a collection of real estate financial experts and mortgage brokers. The advice wasn't all that encouraging, but it was honest and straightforward and made one thing abundantly clear: I needed to get really good legal help right away--and I needed to brace myself for the possibility that I'd only get a portion of my investment back. But after all, a percentage was better than nothing--and I couldn't allow myself to stay in limbo, while the homeowner slipped further and further behind (sometimes making inexplicable partial payments of just a couple hundred dollars at odd times).
I made efforts to talk with the homeowner. I offered to extend a deed in lieu of foreclosure, as I was advised to attempt by "Team Bigger Pockets." I was flatly turned down...laughed at, actually.
So, with that outreach crossed off my list, I went on to put a real estate attorney in charge of the whole process. The homeowner got back on track with payments for awhile and then started missing again.
So, we started the foreclosure process.
Heard nothing back from the homeowner (henceforward known as HO :-)
Then...the news that HO had declared bankruptcy.
Foreclosure halted.
Then the news that the bankruptcy was not going to proceed.
Foreclosure on again.
Finally, the HO decided to sell, before the auction date hit.
Would I consider holding off on the foreclosure to allow the sale to close?
I agreed (though with some hesitation)--and the closing went smoothly. Got every penny of my loan back, plus all the interest and late fees that had accrued.
I can't even tell you the relief I felt holding the check in my hand, after that 15-month battle.
It's funny...you know, Bigger Pockets also helped equip me with the info I needed to acquire eight rental properties in 2013/2014--and sure, I'm thankful for all of that guidance too. But what I'm most thankful for is the way the community rallied round me (with no lecturing or tsk tsks). I was, at the time, a brand-new member. So it's not as though I had any relationships to bank on before I yelled for help with the horrible "mortgage-gone-wrong" drama. It was a humiliating thing to go through. I felt as foolish as I've ever have in my life...and it was good to get some just-the-facts expert guidance.
Once I get my investment back out, I was able to partner with another real estate investor in a pretty cool flip...and make a quick profit. I was also able to put some money into one of my rentals and sell IT for a nice gain. And with cash-flow restored, my next investment was in training/coaching in my primary business, which is copywriting and SEO.
As my thank you to the community, I'd like to invite anyone here who's in need of local SEO services to reach out to me. I'm fine-tuning my process before I market my package of services widely. And I'd love to work with some RE service professionals with physical office addresses, to help them rank highly for the keywords they're competing for locally.
PM me if you'd like to take advantage of my gift of 6-8 hours of SEO consultation. I'm not marketing services here, just to be clear. I'm looking to give something back to y'all...while I also sharpen new skills.
Thanks, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving.
Maureen
I am so thankful to have found BP when I did! I've been a truck driver for the last three years. I stumbled across BP about six months ago. Often there is a lot of downtime, when you're not driving and since I found BP, anytime I'm parked you'll find me with my head in my smartphone learning. I feel like I've truly been able to get a quality education online in REI while out on the road!
When I AM driving, I listen to podcasts!
Also thankful to every BP member who takes the time to share their business, their experiences, and their lives. I'm starting to connect with quality people that I know I will want to do business with!
GOD BLESS BP NATION!!
@Emmanuel Wesley , that's what I did when I started out - I learned while driving to and from work. There was no BP then but I listened to real estate seminars on cassette tapes (for those of you young ones - that's what we have before audio CDs).
I'm very grateful to @Joshua Dorkin for starting this great start and working on it for years and years. There is no doubt that without his initial and continued efforts this website could not have succeeded in the way that it has. I'm also grateful to all of the contributors who give up their valuable time to answer question after question. I'm grateful for the chance to discuss ideas with some very savvy investors.
I'm grateful for the chance to meet several investors on here, most especially my good friend, @J Scott. If it wasn't for BP, I'm sure I would have never have met J, who has greatly influenced and enhanced my flipping business.
Thanks for starting this thread @Wendell De Guzman!
Originally posted by @Maureen Hannan:
I'm grateful to BP because help I got here on the forum in 2013 gave me the knowledge base, insight, and courage to foreclose on a property I held the mortgage note on. A private mortgage situation...one of those things a really savvy investor never would have agreed to. But at the time, I just didn't know. It was five and a half years ago, I knew a lot less about investing than I do now, and I was scared of the stock market. Making the loan seemed like a win-win, and I was newly divorced in the midst of a bad (and worsening) economy....
To explain a bit more, becoming a private mortgage lender was not something I went looking for. It was a request put in front of me--completely unexpected. I looked at it....It seemed like way to get better returns than a CD would ever give me, and (though I'm ashamed to admit now that I let emotion lead me in this decision) it was a way to help a family-friend-plus-kid stay in the family home after a divorce. Of course, you can write the rest of this story, right? The family friend stopped paying after a couple years, and an attitude of entitlement set in. "You can't take my house away....You'd never do that, would you? I thought you were a good person. Don't you know how many problems I have?"
Confused and shaken, I went to the forum here to find out what in the world I could do about the situation. Was there a way to sell the note? Was I stuck? How could I get out of this no-win deal? What were my legal rights?
Immediately, I heard back on the forum from a collection of real estate financial experts and mortgage brokers. The advice wasn't all that encouraging, but it was honest and straightforward and made one thing abundantly clear: I needed to get really good legal help right away--and I needed to brace myself for the possibility that I'd only get a portion of my investment back. But after all, a percentage was better than nothing--and I couldn't allow myself to stay in limbo, while the homeowner slipped further and further behind (sometimes making inexplicable partial payments of just a couple hundred dollars at odd times).
I made efforts to talk with the homeowner. I offered to extend a deed in lieu of foreclosure, as I was advised to attempt by "Team Bigger Pockets." I was flatly turned down...laughed at, actually.
So, with that outreach crossed off my list, I went on to put a real estate attorney in charge of the whole process. The homeowner got back on track with payments for awhile and then started missing again.
So, we started the foreclosure process.
Heard nothing back from the homeowner (henceforward known as HO :-)
Then...the news that HO had declared bankruptcy.
Foreclosure halted.
Then the news that the bankruptcy was not going to proceed.
Foreclosure on again.
Finally, the HO decided to sell, before the auction date hit.
Would I consider holding off on the foreclosure to allow the sale to close?
I agreed (though with some hesitation)--and the closing went smoothly. Got every penny of my loan back, plus all the interest and late fees that had accrued.
I can't even tell you the relief I felt holding the check in my hand, after that 15-month battle.
It's funny...you know, Bigger Pockets also helped equip me with the info I needed to acquire eight rental properties in 2013/2014--and sure, I'm thankful for all of that guidance too. But what I'm most thankful for is the way the community rallied round me (with no lecturing or tsk tsks). I was, at the time, a brand-new member. So it's not as though I had any relationships to bank on before I yelled for help with the horrible "mortgage-gone-wrong" drama. It was a humiliating thing to go through. I felt as foolish as I've ever have in my life...and it was good to get some just-the-facts expert guidance.
Once I get my investment back out, I was able to partner with another real estate investor in a pretty cool flip...and make a quick profit. I was also able to put some money into one of my rentals and sell IT for a nice gain. And with cash-flow restored, my next investment was in training/coaching in my primary business, which is copywriting and SEO.
As my thank you to the community, I'd like to invite anyone here who's in need of local SEO services to reach out to me. I'm fine-tuning my process before I market my package of services widely. And I'd love to work with some RE service professionals with physical office addresses, to help them rank highly for the keywords they're competing for locally.
PM me if you'd like to take advantage of my gift of 6-8 hours of SEO consultation. I'm not marketing services here, just to be clear. I'm looking to give something back to y'all...while I also sharpen new skills.
Thanks, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving.
Maureen
This is awesome Maureen. If I can vote for your post 10 times, I would :-)
It's great that BPers helped you get over your foreclosure (as a lender) situation. As a private lender myself in addition to investing in real estate, I have been a victim of fortunately, only 1 person who did not pay me back. So I can relate to your experience.
I will take you up on your offer on SEO consultation. I need to buy more properties in 2015 and I am not doing any online marketing just yet. Your help will be appreciated and of course, I will give you a glowing testimonial (assuming of course your SEO process works). I will send you a PM.
That should say GREAT WEBSITE! Sorry, I got a phone call while typing.