Current newbie trends on BP!!

Mark Cruse · 2023-03-15T06:42:49-07:00

Maybe it's me but I'm just curious if anyone has noticed that some of the newbies seeking knowledge appear to be less serious than before. When I first started coming here people seemed hungry. They were researched, had boots on the ground and were ready to kick *** and take names over the long haul. Now, more and more I see stuff like: "I'm new to real estate, have no money or credit and I want 2 million cash flow multi family this year, what do I do?". They do zero research and don't even care to dig up basic information. I don't entertain them that much anymore but some do. In many cases the person never even returns to see the responses. Those that do, they vanish shortly after. I love trying to assist young investors because I didn't have much of that coming up, but where are the serious people who aren't looking for a get rich quick STR in 5 days? This is my passion and I have to admit it gets under my skin when people waste other's time or approach this like a joke. It's not a game. Thanks for letting me vent. LOL

Mark Cruse

OP

Investor · Fort Washington, MD · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

3y

Quote from @Liam Maher:

@Mark Cruse

"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannise their teachers."

- Socrates (430BC)

One newbie hit me in my inbox and said I have no money but need someone to show me how to flip from end to end. I need them to drive the whole thing for me. I assumed they were silly but I responded with a few follow up questions to see where they were and they quit BP without ever responding.

Another did convince me they were serious. I even took time out of my weekend to meet them at a potential property. Normally for me to do that I have to really have a good vibe about them. I went to the address and they never showed up. I text him and he said "my bad, was watching Game of Thrones". I asked didnt he feel a basic call or text was warranted if he was not coming to a meeting he set up? His response was "dafuk, im grown and dont even call my Momma".

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Scott E.

Contractor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2010 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes

3y

Quote from @James Hamling:

Quote from @Scott E.:

Quote from @Mark Cruse:

@Austin Steed Very good observation. That seems like a major contributor. Yes, when you think of it people could go a lot further in the day. Still it seems more like a quick rich quick mentality for too many. Some don't want to dig or research and disappear as though it was some playful kind of game. I get you though, its multiple facets to it. Thanks!

@Scott E. I'm not here to debate or go back and forth to convince you of anything. I posted my rant and that is what it is. Apparently others have noticed as well. With your quotations comments it appears you are more of an internet troll and are not actually serious about the topic at hand. Please dont preach about bashing newbies because there countless I have and am helping currently. Many can vouch for that.

No need to continue with you because like I said I sincerely doubt you actually care about this serious topic. However, if you do (which i still doubt) you take on the ones that post up BS, never return, never accept advice and disappear into the wind after 3 days. Not worth my time.

Have a good day.................

Now we are resorting to name calling? I thought you were a professional.

I'm all for productive discussion. It helps me to learn and grow as a person. We agree to disagree. And as I already said, no hard feelings.

The single most NAUSIATING statement on earth: "agree to disagree".

Sorry to have nauseated you. I guess you're right, it is a bit of an annoying statement. I couldn't think of another way to say that I acknowledge we don't see eye to eye on this one, but it's all good.

1 Reply

Bill F.

Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes

3y

Quote from @Steve Vaughan:

@Mark Cruse I hear you.

I respond at a much lower rate these days. A few times a week.

I get that new people have questions, but it's the disappearing that gets me.

If they haven't taken the time to have a profile pic I don’t bother contributing to their post. About 3x less chance my time is completely wasted if they have a pic.

I'm with you Steve, I post a LOT less than I used to. Most of that probably for reasons internal to me (getting busier, different priorities, having more knowledge, seeing the same questions over and over again)

The nature of the BP forums has slowly evolved as they will when anything scales and gets more popular. And the world changed around the forums. SFR/STR/Syndication/Turnkey became the hot thing and that tailwind helped BP. Low rates and lots of $$ made RE prices go nuts. All of this brought more ppl to the forums. Bringing lots of ppl togethere who share an interest means ppl will try to sell to them. Enter the influx of agents, lenders, GPs. A PE firm also bought all or some of BP which brings in its own set of pressures to hit metrics (increase mAU, Revenue per user, % of users with Pro/ Premium). Probably the worst for me was the revolving door of attempts at monetization of the forums that made the UX go from pretty good to terrible.

Now the nature of the forums is a bunch of new folks come on here hyped up on a dream and ppl scramble to reinforce their believes in hopes of selling them something while the ever shrinking community of RE nerds still do what they used to do.

At least that's my take.

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Jay ThomasPro Member

Real Estate Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2021 · 1k+ posts · 715 votes

3y

While it's true that some postings on forums can be repetitive, it should be noted that they also provide an invaluable source of knowledge. Real estate investing is a complex and ever-changing field, and the insight provided by experienced forum users is absolutely invaluable to those seeking to get started or further their current investing efforts. If you want to succeed in real estate investing, the collective wisdom shared in these conversations should not be overlooked.

In addition, forums can help newcomers form connections with local experts who may otherwise remain out of reach. By participating in conversation threads on topics related to your interests and providing helpful advice for others when possible, you can quickly establish yourself as a respected user within the community. It's often through these relationships that investors gain access to the best deals and capitalize on their investments.

[email protected]832-889-5607

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Forrest T Schue

Investor · Member since 2022 · 106 posts · 67 votes

3y

Quote from @Michael Dumler:

@Mark Cruse, newer investors don't know what they don't know. Everyone wants immediate gratification these days. Honestly, I somewhat blame the YouTube/TikTok finance space and some of BP's newer podcast episodes which can have titles that are a little clickbait, "The 3 Steps to Go From Broke to Millionaire in 2023", "This Tropical Airbnb makes $150k/Year", "$1M/Year with 9 Rental Properties". These aren't exactly videos that newer investors should be watching/listening to. To be blunt, I pretty much stopped watching when Brandon Turner left. I advise newer investors to start with older episodes for the practical aspects but to understand the fact that market conditions have changed. Moreover, as odd as it sounds, there is TOO MUCH information out there. Newer investors can easily get overwhelmed, ultimately leading to analysis paralysis and a lack of taking action. There's my vent haha. Curious to hear others' thoughts.

YouTube has gotten super annoying in that sense. Unfortunately I’m noticing that BP isn’t above the click baiting. I think what’s worse than overhyping money that can be made “quickly” in real estate, is using fear tactics for views. The background on fire with “HOUSING MARKET CRASH” or things of the sort that we’ve seen so much recently, and now with SVB. I used to use Bigger Pockets interviews and other trusted guys on YouTube for a main source of education, now I can’t stand it. Luckily I’ve gotten to the point where I have a team whom I can ask questions quickly and this forum to learn from other “normal” and educated investors, and books of course.
And @Mark Cruse to your point, as a newer investor I see this too on here, and I notice this in peers who get excited when new trends come along but aren’t serious about anything in the long haul. As soon as they realize something will take real research and they’ll have to give up significant free time and take charge of their life, they decide it’s not for them. Can’t blame them(I guess), and it’s less competition for me the way I see it. I’m the carpentry world too, and it’s the same way. Major lack of work ethic, not increasing their productivity, yet young guys are buying brand new trucks to look the part.
In all of this, there is so much opportunity for young, hardworking people to get ahead in this world and it’s hard not to be grateful for that.

1 Reply

Deniece Frideley

New to Real Estate · TX · Member since 2023 · 5 posts · 2 votes

3y

Hi Mark, I am a newbie to REI. I agree with Durjan that there is information overload out there. Originally to invest in a single STR, then I decided to look at small glamping sites, due to regulations, we went back to STR, now we're looking at Fix & Hold due to the interest rates. There is a ton of information to sift through, not to mention all of the scammers and get rich quick people. My husband and I are looking to work for ourselves, not keep making the company we (both) work for rich. At 45, I'm getting started late... but I'm here for the long haul.

Every industry (work from home, canva, digital marketing, etc...) is having a similar issue due to Social Media. Just log into YT and see how many videos pop up claiming... I made 60K in 1 month and quit my day job!

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Thomas Loiselle

Member since 2023 · 3 posts · 1 vote

3y

I'm a newbie. It is a bit overwhelming. So much going on and not really sure who to talk to yet but I'm hoping BP is the place. A friend of our family buys fixes and flips houses. That's not for me. He suggested I look into tax liens and tax deeds. Wasn't able to provide a lot of details but said its a great place to start off in real estate if you don't have a lot of money. I plan to be here for the long haul. I tried trading stocks, bonds, futures, options for years on and off. Just not my cup of tea being a day trader. Hoping this will be my nitch.

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Current newbie trends on BP!!

Current newbie trends on BP!!

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