On this last day of 2006, I just wanted to once again thank everyone for visiting! It has been an amazing year, and we’ve come a long way. We’ve had hundreds of thousands of visitors view many millions of pages!

Photo Taken at Hong Kong Disneyland 11/06

If you’re a reader of this blog, but haven’t yet really explored our site, take a look! We’ve got tons of great resources!

• BiggerPockets Real Estate Investing Guide Home
• Real Estate Forums
• Real Estate Chatroom
• Property Listings
• Property Analysis Tool
• Real Estate Wiki
• Investing Articles

If you’ve got any ideas, thoughts, or feeback that you’d like to share with us, please don’t hesitate to contact me at josh (a)(t) biggerpockets.com! Many of the things you see on our site have come thanks to emails from our readers.

I’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year from the family here at BiggerPockets.com!

SEE YOU IN 2007

Welcome to Our Blog!
Welcome to the Real Estate Dispatch from BiggerPockets.com. Our blog brings together experts in various fields of real estate with the goal of keeping our readers informed and up to speed. Whether you're a real estate professional (lender, Realtor, banker, etc), investor (landlord, flipper, wholesaler, etc.), or simply a consumer, renter or homeowner interested in the world of real estate, this blog is the place for you to get involved!

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Tags: best, biggerpockets, biggerpockets.com, community, estate, guide, real, Real Estate Investing

Today’s submissions of the 2007 Real Estate Goals Group Writing Projectinclude:

• Pondering Goals for 2007 by Caron Mosey
• Reflecting on 2006 and goal setting for 2007! by Jesse Barron
• The Road Ahead: The Corporation by Nick Gifford

Only 5 days remaining. Make sure you get your business plan together for next year and get your real estate goals together!

Tags: 2007, Barron, bigger, biggerpockets, contest, estate, goal, Jesse, pockets, real, writing

The 2007 Real Estate Goals Group Writing Project continues on this holiday weekend. As expected, we’ve had a bit of a slowdown in submissions, but the project continues.

Congrats to:

• Chris Cranny for putting together his Biggerpockets Goals

Make sure you take a look at all of the goal submissions that we’ve already gotten!

Just as a reminder, we’re giving away prizes to random participants, including (more to come):

• 100 business cards, valued at $25.
• A signed copy of the book, The Real Truth about Real Estate Investing valued at $30.00
• A Free Rehab Project Planning CD valued at $49.95.
• $60 worth of electronic product online, including 1) The Spill Zone (e-book), Author Ed Ross 2) Audio electronic “Navigating the Market Series” (40 minutes) and 3. An assortment of Bonus Gifts.
• A free Video Podcast & Set Up Fee from MLPodcast.Com, valued at $79.90.

Tags: 2007, bigger, biggerpockets, chris, contest, cranny, estate, goal, New, pockets, real, resolutions, writing, years

The group writing project goals continue to trickle in, and a few people have thanked me for extending our deadline until January 5, 2007. That said, here are today’s submissions (notice multiple posts from Nick Gifford - he was really detailed with his goals - a MUST READ!)

• 2007 Goals by Jim Duncan
• Real Estate Goals for 2007 by Jason Curts
• The Road Ahead: Net Worth Goals by Nick Gifford
• The Road Ahead: Investment Goals by Nick Gifford
• The Road Ahead: Organization by Nick Gifford
• The Road Ahead: Marketing by Nick Gifford

Tags: 2007, bigger, biggerpockets, blogging, contest, estate, Gifford, goal, goals, Nick, pockets, real, writing

We went surfing through Digg to find the most popular real estate stories from the last year. Here are the 14 coolest real estate stories that we could find among the masses of submissions:

1. The next real estate boom
   ” Picture the scene: it’s 2025, and you and your family are living in a beautiful, leafy-green village that seems more 19th century than 21st, even though it has only been in existence for ten years and is just 20 miles from a major American city.”
2. Photos of 100 Rooms, each 100 Square Feet in Size in Hong Kong Public Housing
   This photo-montage of 100 tiny apartment rooms was a very popular topic.
3. Super Tree Houses
   Check out the coolest tree houses you’ll ever see!
4. The 7 Coolest Web 2.0 Real Estate Sites
   We picked the 7 coolest real estate web 2.0 sites back in April. Low and behold, this was to become one popular post.
5. Craigslist to charge fees for real estate listings
   This strategy, which has taken place in selected cities, must have brought a ton of cash to the Craigslist crew and Craig Newmark.
6. The End for 6% Realtors?
   With the advent of new companies like Redfin and great new technologies, will full price real estate agents kick the bucket?
7. For the first time in the U.S., asking price for a house tops $100 million
   Donald Trump’s $125 million Palm Beach home broke the $100 million barrier for the first time in US history. Ironically, the price was soon thereafter Trumped!
8. The Greenest Office in America
   Adobe has turned its headquarters into a towering example of environmentalism - and is saving millions of dollars in the process.
9. 3 Million Bees Removed From Kitchen Of Couple’s Apartment
   A south Florida couple was happy to not be sharing their home with millions of bees. Jesus Molina said he and his girlfriend were ready to buzz off after a swarm of bees invaded the kitchen wall of their Miami Beach apartment. (video)
10. Dubai Dominates Global Architecture with Tallest Building and More
    Dubai, located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been at the forefront of global architecture and is in the process of building the world’s tallest building, amongst other things.
11. Green Buildings are all the rage in New York City
    “They are not yet as ubiquitous as the Toyota Prius, the hybrid car popular among the ecologically minded, but “green” apartment buildings have begun popping up around Manhattan.”
12. The World’s Smallest Apartment
    Imagine living in the world’s smallest apartment. . . this thing is tiny! (photo)
13. 15 Common Renter’s Rights
    “You don’t have to be expert in landlord-tenant law to protect yourself. Just brush up on your rights — and read your lease before signing the dotted line.”
14. Tenant Leaves Behind 70,000 Beer Cans
    Imagine walking in on your apartment after your tenant moves out and finding 70,000 cans! (photo)

Tags: apartment, biggerpockets, building, cool, craigslist, digg, Donald, dubai, estate, future, green, landlord, popular, real, redfin, stories, tallest, Trump

The goals are really starting to come in now! After consulting with some friends online, I’ve decided to extend the deadline for our 2007 Real Estate Goals Group Writing Project until Friday, January 5th.

Today’s submissions include:

• Real Estate Goals ‘07 - Group Writing Project by Sonya aka AroundTheWorld
• Real Estate Goals For 2007 by Monica Villasenor
• Real Estate Goal Group Writing Project for 2007 by Derek Burress
• REI Newbie, Goals for 2007 by Mike Martone

Visit our complete list of submissions!

Again, thanks to all of the contest sponsors for their support (new sponsors keep arriving!):

• Jeff Byer of Print Fellas for donating 100 business cards, valued at $25.
• James Klobasa for donating his ebook Residual Income Through Real Estate, valued at $27.
• Michael Mulrooney for donating a signed copy of his book, The Real Truth about Real Estate Investing valued at $30.00 .
• “Roni” M. Wilcox for donating a Free Rehab Project Planning CD valued at $49.95.
• Mike Schendel for donating $60 worth of electronic product online, including 1) The Spill Zone (e-book), Author Ed Ross 2) Audio electronic “Navigating the Market Series” (40 minutes) and 3. An assortment of Bonus Gifts.
• Michael Price for tossing in a free Video Podcast & Set Up Fee from MLPodcast.Com, valued at $79.90.

If you’re interested in donating to the contest, please contact me at josh (a)(t) biggerpockets.com

Tags: 2007, biggerpockets, estate, goals, group, New, project, real, resolutions, writing, years

The 2007 Real Estate Goals Group Writing Project has begun, and the submissions have started to roll in:
Friday, January 5, 2007

• Real Estate Goals for 2007 Group Writing Project by Spencer Barron
• 2007 Real Estate Goals by Teresa Boardman

Monday, January 1, 2007

• Goals for the year 2007 by Jarkko Aho
• Our First New Year by Bonnie Erickson (Posted 12/31)

Sunday, December 31, 2006

• Pondering Goals for 2007 by Caron Mosey
• Reflecting on 2006 and goal setting for 2007! by Jesse Barron
• The Road Ahead: The Corporation by Nick Gifford

Saturday, December 30, 2006

• Biggerpockets Goals by Chris Cranny

Friday, December 29, 2006

• 2007 Goals by Jim Duncan
• Real Estate Goals for 2007 by Jason Curts
• The Road Ahead: Net Worth Goals by Nick Gifford
• The Road Ahead: Investment Goals by Nick Gifford
• The Road Ahead: Organization by Nick Gifford
• The Road Ahead: Marketing by Nick Gifford

Thursday, December 28, 2006

• Real Estate Goals ‘07 - Group Writing Project by Sonya aka AroundTheWorld
• Real Estate Goals For 2007 by Monica Villasenor
• Real Estate Goal Group Writing Project for 2007 by Derek Burress
• REI Newbie, Goals for 2007 by Mike Martone

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

• The Road Ahead: 2007 Installment by Nick Gifford
• Goals for 2007… by James Klobasa

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

• The Great BiggerPockets Real Estate Blog is Off and Running by Lenn Harley
• 2007 Real Estate Goals by Trisha Allen of Building an Empire

As the entries continue to arrive, we will add them to this master list.

Tags: 2007, activerain, bigger, biggerpockets, contest, estate, goal, pockets, real, writing