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BiggerPockets Editorial Guidelines & Quality Standards

At BiggerPockets, our content is published with those who seek real estate and personal finance information in mind. We strive to help people avoid mistakes, learn valuable tips, and make the best investing decisions possible. We work hard to bring together real estate experts, newbies, and everyone in between to gain the knowledge needed to reach their full potential.

Quality Standards

  • Our expert writers are committed to sharing investment and financial insight with accuracy to the best of their knowledge.
  • We thoroughly vet all our contributors to ensure they have real-life, in-the-field experience with the topics they cover.
  • Content is professionally edited and fact-checked with the aim of providing our audience fair and accurate information.
  • If you ever question the integrity of an informational guide, blog article, podcast episode, video, etc. that we publish, please feel free to call attention to it for review by emailing [email protected].

Editorial Integrity

The vast majority of educational content on our site (i.e., blog articles, podcasts, videos, informational guides, etc.) is available to the public free of charge and is not monetized.

Disclosure

BiggerPockets content is designed to provide general information regarding the subject matter covered. It is not intended to serve as legal, tax, or other financial advice related to individual situations. Consult with your own attorney, CPA, and/or other advisor regarding your specific situation.

Editorial Guidelines: BiggerPockets Reviews

Goal of reviews: Provide factual, accurate, and unbiased information about products or services so readers are able to make more informed decisions regarding their real estate-related purchases.

Review Methodology

All products and services reviewed by BiggerPockets are thoroughly analyzed and vetted against specific criteria to ensure consistent and fair evaluation

Research phase

  • Approach the product or service with an open mind
  • Gather factual specifications about the product or service through up-to-date primary sources (i.e. the product or service’s own website and press releases, etc.)
  • Fact-check product specifications, service offerings, etc. through well-respected sources
  • Validate specifications through first-hand experience when possible
  • Gather information regarding consumer sentiment, positive and negative, through trustworthy secondary sources, such as consumer surveys and websites that provide consumer reviews (i.e. Yelp, Google Reviews, BBB, BiggerPockets Forums)

Writing phase

  • Aim for a detailed, objective, balanced synopsis
  • Focus on generating value for the reader, i.e. give as much useful information as possible to help readers make decisions
  • Point out the pros and cons of the product/service straightforwardly
  • Illustrate general offerings and product specifications
  • Screenshot and link to areas of product/service website when applicable
  • Summarize existing sentiment, positive and negative
  • Make clear who might most benefit from this product/service, as well as who might be better off with an alternative

Approval phase

  • Pass all reviews through the editorial approval process, which includes the review being read and approved by at least one other member of the editorial staff

Updating phase

  • Revisit reviews periodically to ensure that information is up-to-date and continues to be helpful to consumers. Any updates will need to be approved in accordance with the approval process set forth above.
  • Any disputes with factual elements of reviews brought to the editorial staff by a consumer or the company offering the product or service should be routed through the dispute process, which involves flagging the review for examination of its integrity and accuracy by emailing [email protected]

General Review Criteria

User Friendliness

  • Is product/service website straightforward to use?
  • Are offerings clearly laid out?
  • Is signing up/purchasing product/service an intuitive process?

Breadth of Offerings

  • Are the company’s offerings similar, better, or worse than what competitors in the space offer?
  • Is what the company offers specific to a certain demographic, experience level, or niche of investor?
  • What does the company excel at offering? Where does it fall short?
  • Does the company offer any above-and-beyond services, such as a dedicated app, 24/7 customer support, etc.?

Pricing

  • Is the company’s pricing competitive to similar companies in the space?
  • What does the pricing cover?
  • Is the pricing structure straight-forward?
  • Does the company offer any promotions (short or long-term)?

Customer Support

  • Is there an easy way to contact support via the website?
  • What do existing reviews say about the company’s customer support?
  • During which hours is customer service available?
Specific criteria for reviews based on type of review (e.g. lenders, home supplies, property management companies) will be provided to writers covering those products/services.

Review Integrity & Independence

The editorial staff’s goal is to help users make the best purchase decisions possible. The editorial staff is not permitted to accept any direct compensation (including, without limitation, free products or services) from BiggerPockets’ advertisers or any company whose products/services are reviewed by the editorial staff. The editorial staff should not share its reviews, or the general content of its reviews, with any advertiser or company, or the general public, prior to approval. The editorial staff should not discuss the subject or content of its reviews with the members of the business team who are responsible for advertisers’ relationships.