What was your "AHA!" Moment with BiggerPockets?

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What was your "AHA!" Moment with BiggerPockets?

Scott TrenchPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 6k+ votes

Here's a self-serving question - for those of you out there who have been regularly using BiggerPockets for months or years - when did things "click"?  

When did you realize the power of BiggerPockets and it's ability to help you grow your business?  What keeps you around and posting hundreds or thousands of times?

I'm fascinated by this and want to help others get that same feeling. 

For me - it was the first time I posted about wanting to invest here in Denver, CO, and some folks reached out to me with the clearly serious intention of helping me see it through.  I eventually ended up working with one of them (@Micki M.  )to buy my first property! 

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Landon Dolezal
Maple Valley, WA · Member since 2013 · 83 posts · 25 votes
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When you realize you dont have to scour the internet anymore for random tidbits of RE information haha.

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  • Isral Konopa
    Arcata, CA · Member since 2015 · 14 posts · 9 votes
    11y

    For me it all started with the podcasts, hearing about peoples success in the biz really solidified my belief that I too could be successful.  From there the next pivotal moment was posting on the forum and receiving great feedback.   

    Overall it's the simple presence of so many people doing it that really inspires me.  Oh ya, especially when I hear stories like @Arlen Chou, California investors finding 1% deals with seller financing!! Sweet, I can't wait till I get my first one.

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  • David HollandPro Member
    Realtor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2013 · 91 posts · 32 votes
    11y

    My aha moment was when I found and listened to the first BP podcast. I was blown away and have since listened to every one. I can't wait for Thursdays now. Hearing the success others are having motivates me to keep going. I believe if I do so, everything will happen sooner rather than later. 

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  • Joel OwensBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    11y

    I remember way back when this was a one page static site. It had a few bank foreclosure sources listed in the middle of it.

    There was that site and a couple of other sites around the web.

    I was a member but didn't do much with it. Fast forward years later I come across the site again. This time I am amazed at all the info that is offered and the forums that are there. There was no guru crap just people talking and sharing experiences.

    I had to re-create a log-in and profile as it had been so long.

    I had never seen anything like this site and knew Josh had something special.

    I used to go to library and read a lot so now I basically had an unlimited electronic library of real estate investing at my fingertips! For a knowledge junkie like me it was a treasure trove........ : )

    To others thinking only people with 1k to 100k for example are on this site you would be mistaken. Many do not post and some are not even members here. They do a Google search and then come to Bigger Pockets reading. They contact you privately.

    These tend to be private people with enormous amounts of wealth. They enjoy reading the info but do not have the personal time to be on this sight constantly. So BP serves a positive function that varies from person to person on this site.

    I have built a total network here over the years from people with accumulated wealth in the hundreds of millions. I am talking individual people.

    Some have 500k, some 10 million, some 40 million.

    The scary thing Is I am only doing maybe 10% of what I want to do with this site currently. If you put time into this site I have not seen anything that can match it yet ( at least for me).  

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  • Ben Leybovich
    Rental Property Investor · Phoenix/Lima, Arizona/OH · Member since 2012 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    11y

    @Scott Trench - no AHA moment here.  Simply put, all of my friends are here.  Where else would I go...?!

    And by the way, you're working your way into the mix...lucky you :)

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  • Julie Kern
    Investor · Taylorsville, GA · Member since 2014 · 352 posts · 540 votes
    11y

    I think my biggest BP "Aha" moment(s) came from listening to guests on the podcasts talk about their mistakes. I realized that you don't have to know *everything* to get started in REI and that mistakes are part of the growth process. Had if not been for that, analysis paralysis might have overtaken me. Instead, my husband and I have acquired a couple of rental properties in the last 3 months and we're looking for our third in 2015. Literally couldn't have done it without BP.

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  • Mark F.
    Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2009 · 230 posts · 138 votes
    11y

    For me, the "Aha!" was actually somewhat recent. I was on BP several years ago, but got sidetracked with other things and didn't get back on until late last year. I've since realized what an incredibly powerful networking resource this site is. There are people on BP (I've read their comments) who can directly trace their success to this website. Great stuff!

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  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    11y

    @Scott Trench 

      For me it was realizing that I could meet people all over the country in one spot.. and there are some seriously knowledgeable folks on this site. So for me if I had a question about something in Texas I simply contacted one of the top Texas brains and got the answer in a few minutes as opposed to hunting for it old school style.

    Also being able to reverse engineer who I want to work with,  follow post and find potential equity partners by back trolling...

    Along with coming up with a new concept for a web site that I think will be very helpful to many on BP...

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  • Marci Stein
    Rental Property Investor · New York, NY · Member since 2011 · 956 posts · 510 votes
    11y

    Seeing so many others are obsessed with real estate , as i am , 

    and not feeling like i'm weird  because of it.

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  • Rosendo Gonzales
    Real Estate Investor · Visalia, CA · Member since 2014 · 22 posts · 7 votes
    11y

    My ' Aha moment' was defined went I sent Brandon and Josh a message to see if they were real people doing real things or to see if they were the same as rest with promises like the gurus and their programs...... most of their info is useless (the gurus) they are just out to make a buck,  I studied many of their easy ways to make money, they say, these gurus, but none have made the grade, none...on the other hand these two ( Brandon and Josh ) promise or guaranty not one thing expect friendship and a place one can hang out with like minded people and learn ..... I was encouraged to look thru the BP pages and see first hand for myself, I found what  I had been searching for,  a platform in which I didn't have to pay to play ($97.00 monthy dues)  and all that was and is required is that you be real and so I am being real and spreading the news of my new found Friends, You guys here on Biggerpockets

                   ............ May you all have prosperity in your lives.................., Rosendo   

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  • Kevin Haskins
    Real Estate Investor · Monroe, WA · Member since 2015 · 15 posts · 22 votes
    11y

    I've not had an "AHA" moment yet.    Still waiting on it. 

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  • Tony Gonzalez
    Renter · Jersey City, NJ · Member since 2014 · 38 posts · 13 votes
    11y

    When I found that about five books recommended in one blog post, that ultimately transformed my life...one of them is called "The Morning Miracle", and " The One Thing"

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  • Andrew SyriosPro Member
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    Residential Real Estate Investor · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    11y

    I don't think there was an "ah ha" moment for me, unless it is an "ah ha" moment to realize that BP was a great way to take a chunk out from the gurus charging $3000 for each seminar or whatever. Yes, they're not all bad, but to have a one stop shop with as much information and tools as a real estate investor could possibly want was simply really enticing for me. Not just for the information, but for what it stood for.

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  • Chad Lopes
    Investor · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2014 · 37 posts · 30 votes
    11y

    I was researching how to analyze a sfr deal and came across the 2 percent rule on BP which then led to 50 percent rule which then led to a true gold mine of information from people like @Jay Hinrichs and others who post regularly and probably don't realize the following they have. This site is a gold mine and I look forward to contributing as much as I have learned.

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  • Miguel MariaBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Hollywood, FL · Member since 2014 · 34 posts · 6 votes
    11y
    I'm still realizing hat moment.... I started listening to Bp when my business partner Chris Kennedy told me about it and is incredible the connections he has done because of it and we actually have been able to work with other Bp members because of it which is the best way I think to meet investors, partners, buyers, sellers, etc. I still will like to be more active on it and it is one of my goals for 2015 so hopefully you will see more often writing on forums.... Thanks Bp for all the connections done and the ones to be made!
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  • Scott Rowsick
    Realtor · Virginia Beach, VA (Virginia Beach) · Member since 2015 · 21 posts · 5 votes
    11y

    I'm still waiting for my AHA! moment, but judging from some of these comments, I need to start listening to the podcasts more often!

    Great discussion, by the way.

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  • Pete T.
    Real estate investor · Las Vegas · Member since 2013 · 798 posts · 171 votes
    11y

    There are too many to list one.  First, want to thank all of the people that make this site so great!  My favorite things are meeting the people I have helped, finding partners and friends, and all of the different ways to do things I never would have never considered w/o this site.  Also, encouraging seeing all of the military members that are doing this.

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  • Cierra Seay
    Residential Real Estate Agent · Eastpointe, MI · Member since 2014 · 231 posts · 52 votes
    11y

    My aha moment was listening to a Podcast and a an investor in my area was featured on the podcast. I did exactly what he suggested new investors do and that was find a mentor/ Long story short he is now my mentor and I'm working directly with him in his business as well as he is teaching me step by step an area of investing that I am interested in. 

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  • Justin Grubbs
    Real Estate Agent · Erie, PA · Member since 2015 · 29 posts · 11 votes
    11y

    Although I have not been using bigger pockets for very long, I would have to say my "aha" moment was when I stumbled across BP after almost entering into a "Guru Program". The podcasts that are put up are verbal gold. LOVE IT. I am so happy that BP was able to take the hype out of my learning and made my expectations much more realistic. I am happy to be a part of a community that has A LOT of genuine people in it.

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  • Patrick Jacques
    Orlando, FL · Member since 2014 · 152 posts · 54 votes
    11y
    When Than Merrill asked me for $25,000!!!!
    1Reply
  • Nancy L.
    Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2014 · 178 posts · 64 votes
    11y

    I owe a real debt of gratitude to this forum!!! I came across BP not long ago, shortly after having decided to stop waiting and hoping to get to where I wanted with real estate, but to figure out exactly what my goals are and how to make it happen!

    I can't explain what's happened since then except to say that something clicked -- before, I didn't know how to reach my goals and now I feel that I do. Reading conversations, talking for the first time with those who know more than I do, and reading about things that are not directly related to my facets of the business, have really broadened and deepened my understanding in a way that just informational articles or books never could have.

    I have met ppl from BP, been out to local REI meetings, etc. The momentum and positivity I found here have also caused me to reach out more in networking in other areas, and I've made a few important connections that way... Opportunity tends to beget opportunity.

    A tangible result in the short time since I joined... I was reading a discussion about land contracts, for no reason in particular other than curiosity, which gave me an idea for structuring a buyout agreement from a partner who currently owns a duplex with me. For me, this will mean the same amount of work but more income, and it's helping him with his retirement objectives!

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  • Morris Lucas
    Rental Property Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2012 · 256 posts · 64 votes
    11y

    When i realized you can get complex, real-time information and guidance within seconds, and no one is trying to sell you anything...no book can do that...

    Also when i realized the site is well managed with a certain standard to the community and doesn't seem to have an abundance of bickering and people spouting bad information they pulled right out of their *** like other forums.

    Biggest when i realized that people really can, and are creating tremendous wealth with REI through sheer hard work.

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  • Account Closed
    Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2014 · 785 posts · 190 votes
    11y

    I am new on the site, and for me it's the keyword alerts. What a powerful tool to find leads!

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  • Corey Hassan
    Portsmouth, NH · Member since 2015 · 44 posts · 11 votes
    11y

    My aha moment had to have been after listening to a few of the house-hacking podcasts.  Like most people here I started thinking differently after reading Rich Dad Poor Dad and soon after found this site.  Long story short, after coming back from living overseas, my wife and I both found jobs, spent the money we had saved overseas on our wedding and were approved for a certain amount for a mortgage and we went to the top of our budget on a house which will never give us a return.

    However we ARE very lucky because our house was a flip.  My friend rehabs homes and said if we committed to buying the home and I helped with the flip he would give us a great price on the home.  Which he did and now, less than a year after buying it we are about to list it (my wife just obtained her RE license), based on the competitive market analysis we will actually MAKE money even with listing it due to the price we were able to get it for and the fact I helped rehab the house.  Now we are looking at different multi-families which need some work and yield good returns.  We are visiting one next week and are looking to begin our rental portfolio and in the mean time I am marketing for off market deals to try to get into more rehabbing and/or wholesaling.  This is just the beginning but I am looking forward to posting where I am at a year from now.

    The podcasts and information I learn and continue to learn on BP, as well as the contacts I have made through BP as well as my local REIA I have been attending have been very beneficial. I cant wait to see where this takes me and will make sure to post every update on BP along the way.

    Thanks BP!

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  • Corey Hassan
    Portsmouth, NH · Member since 2015 · 44 posts · 11 votes
    11y

    Also, the creative financing methods I have learned from Brandon Turners podcast, as well as others has been extremely beneficial!

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  • Dashon Jones
    Residential Real Estate Agent · Paterson, NJ · Member since 2013 · 78 posts · 42 votes
    11y

    I haven't been very active up here, but I just got my "AHA" moment today after sharing my first post yesterday looking to inspire beginning real estate investors to get started and post was belittled by a veteran and others came to my defense. It truly showed me how powerful of a platform this is and what we post in or stories are experiences really matter. I plan to be a more active user from now on. 

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