Tell us how to improve BiggerPockets content!
Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 47 posts · 93 votes
Tell us how to improve BiggerPockets content!
Most Popular Reply
Real Estate Agent · Arlington, TX · Member since 2019 · 47 posts · 64 votes
6y@Allison Leung making the app overall mobile device friendly. Include tools and BP Insights to the mobile app version.
152 Replies
- Flipper/Rehabber · Wilton, CT · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes6y
Originally posted by @Ari Hadar:
Originally posted by @Jerryll Noorden:
Hey Allison Leung.
Hope you don't mind I am going to be very blunt. This is not a reflection on you, but it is a bit of a stern rude awakening in my honest opinion.
BP Podcast:
How Joe Smo closed 385937593 deals by the age of 9!
How Oompa Loompa flips 33 houses in 5 days..
Now...
Not a fan of podcasts because all these podcasts are basically personal opinions designed to hype up the unsuspecting users to ... get hyped up. Thats it.
All that stuff on how THEY do it, ... most of the time it is very little actual and a whole lot of theoretical and self admiration disguised as tips and how to.
Now, I have watched just a few podcasts and when I did watch I didn't stay for long, so this may not be accurate but this is the opinion I have based on several random podcasts I tried to watch... so take it how you want it it is meant to give you a blunt opinion of a BP user that really did try to get into BP podcasts.
I can tell you that there is not much focus on the CORE of investing, just personal opinions and I honestly can't stand personal opinions especially when they are disguised and packaged as "this is an other way to get successful" when I honestly cringe when I see COUNTLESS of investors (all over the net, including BP) on podcasts completely butchering lead generation... let me tell you som som.. lead gen is the CORE of investing! Yet, almost nothing on it and when there is something on it, I feel like jumping off a cliff!
All these "brilliant" gadgets and strategies on anything and everything and then they resort to cold calling or DMM for leads. What is the point of BRRRR and all these new ways when your chain is as strong as the weakest link. Amazing strategy X and Y... and how do you do it? Well go do door knocking to get leads, so that THEN you can do amazing strategy X!!
For me, a savvy investor, these podcasts bring little value (sorry). And for beginners, it brings value .. well in my opinion they THINK it brings value.
Seriously... I honestly do not like podcasts for that reason. Do a podcast on how to flip a house from beginning to end. Do a podcast featuring NORMAL investors that tried but failed, and dive deep into why they failed, what went wrong, how to avoid it. Focus on education and not so much stroking egos of "Successful" investors. Those are VALUABLE lessons beginners can learn from. Not ego boosting investors that "made it" using questionable methods.
Check this out...
Do you all realize what this ENTIRE BP population is doing?
Let me tell you.
While the rest of the nation all are spending money time and effort reaching... "people".... and only AFTER you reach them (having spend the money and /or effort) you figure out if they are motivated sellers or not. You spend what, 10K 20K 30K a month on mailers, commercials, radio ads, cold calling... and after you spend all that money you realize that 97% of the people you paid to reach, turn out they are not motivated at all. Ridiculous. Think about it. It is CRAZY!!! Nuts!!
Is it not painstakingly obvious that you should only spend time money and effort AFTER you know they are motivated?
This is a tremendously obvious flaw in the majority of investors here. I CAN NOT be the only one that figured this out right? NO WAY!
Then why do I NEVER see a podcast on that? That is a GLARING universal flaw in this entire space of REI, yet no one sees it?! Really??
It is almost as if BP has partnered or is sponsored by DMM companies or something and act on the interest of the sponsors rather than focusing where you can help people the most. How to give the most value. You have such a strong community here but it truly feels too... commercial. I get it people need to make money, but the podcasts could be such a powerful tool to focus more on helping all these new struggling investors rather then glorifying the podcast guests.
If I were to start some group, I would truly focus on data collection first. Analysis, figure out why so many people are struggling. Then develop content to truly educate and help people.
The reason SO many investors are failing is because of exactly this. The market is FULL of personal opinions, and not so much actual indisputable facts.
I read a whole debate on BP's stance on "ohh we are not responsible for the content of the podcasts " as BP was podcasting a thief and scammer.
My response to this is, what ever you want to "officially" call it, "not responsible" I lost all respect and credibility for BP podcasts. YES BP, you ARE responsible for the podcasts you put out no matter what the official stance is. YOU (BP) are getting a bad name for being part of the problem and spreading and marketing these scammers and seriously questionable advise on a lot of topics especially lead generation.
The fact of the matter is, no matter how you officially and legally protect your podcasts from blame or lawsuits, this is not helping anyone and therefore the podcasts are pretty much useless in my opinion. It is like podcasts are done for the sake of getting more admiration flowers and more members, instead of helping those that actually need help, succeed.
So my critique is...
dudes, focus on the people that need actual on the ground real help. Not fluff and poetic stories on how this cool dude made it big from a strategy no one is really going to apply or can apply as a beginner.
Let me give you an example.
One of the recent podcasts some dude was talking about:
Tarl:
The key right now is most people build their business and then take their life and try to get their life to fit their business, whatever they have left over. Instead, why don’t the people do it the other way around where they figure out what kind of life do they actually want to live and then design their business to fit that lifestyle?
https://www.biggerpockets.com/...This is the stuff I mean.. (this is why I can't watch more than 3 minutes of podcasts). Sure sounds so poetic and clever and awesome ... wake UP!!
People have mortgages, five 3 year old kids, have to bring their sick kids to the doctor while working 3 jobs to make ends meet.
So here comes this dude "Ohh why don't you figure out the fancy lifestyle you want to live and design your business around that". Are you kidding?
This is what I mean with stroking the egos of the podcast guests.
A lot of theory, not at all practical. Yes tell these folks to just figure out what lifestyle you want to live and design your business around that. I don';t think he has ever been poor or have ever been struggling.
YEAH. Why don't they just pick the life they want and ohh just design your business around that. Oh never mind all the responsibilities and all the money I don't have...
Lot of theory but very little actual practical in these podcasts.
I know this was blunt.. but I don't do sugar coating. It is what it is, and I hope you can extract valuable points here to better the whole podcast thing.
Now for the good.
A lot of you (you included) try hard to make this place the way it is and I applaud you for that. Keep up the good work! The fact you posted this post is obviously indication you try to do better.
So good on you!
Very good comment.It's very hard to find good deal and it's hard to find leads at all and all the courses and podcasts are full of success stories and promises of wealth instead of practical details and facts and solving problems. I am as new to this REI has a difficulty to assess what it need and if I am fit for that.
Ari, BELIEVE me when I tell you that you ARE fit, and capable for this. I promise you. You just need to think on your own and not blindly follow others and man I am telling you, It is not that hard!
- Investor · Member since 2020 · 401 posts · 86 votes6y
What exactly do you find most useful in this site?
Originally posted by @Jerryll Noorden:Originally posted by @Ari Hadar:
Originally posted by @Jerryll Noorden:
Hey Allison Leung.
Hope you don't mind I am going to be very blunt. This is not a reflection on you, but it is a bit of a stern rude awakening in my honest opinion.
BP Podcast:
How Joe Smo closed 385937593 deals by the age of 9!
How Oompa Loompa flips 33 houses in 5 days..
Now...
Not a fan of podcasts because all these podcasts are basically personal opinions designed to hype up the unsuspecting users to ... get hyped up. Thats it.
All that stuff on how THEY do it, ... most of the time it is very little actual and a whole lot of theoretical and self admiration disguised as tips and how to.
Now, I have watched just a few podcasts and when I did watch I didn't stay for long, so this may not be accurate but this is the opinion I have based on several random podcasts I tried to watch... so take it how you want it it is meant to give you a blunt opinion of a BP user that really did try to get into BP podcasts.
I can tell you that there is not much focus on the CORE of investing, just personal opinions and I honestly can't stand personal opinions especially when they are disguised and packaged as "this is an other way to get successful" when I honestly cringe when I see COUNTLESS of investors (all over the net, including BP) on podcasts completely butchering lead generation... let me tell you som som.. lead gen is the CORE of investing! Yet, almost nothing on it and when there is something on it, I feel like jumping off a cliff!
All these "brilliant" gadgets and strategies on anything and everything and then they resort to cold calling or DMM for leads. What is the point of BRRRR and all these new ways when your chain is as strong as the weakest link. Amazing strategy X and Y... and how do you do it? Well go do door knocking to get leads, so that THEN you can do amazing strategy X!!
For me, a savvy investor, these podcasts bring little value (sorry). And for beginners, it brings value .. well in my opinion they THINK it brings value.
Seriously... I honestly do not like podcasts for that reason. Do a podcast on how to flip a house from beginning to end. Do a podcast featuring NORMAL investors that tried but failed, and dive deep into why they failed, what went wrong, how to avoid it. Focus on education and not so much stroking egos of "Successful" investors. Those are VALUABLE lessons beginners can learn from. Not ego boosting investors that "made it" using questionable methods.
Check this out...
Do you all realize what this ENTIRE BP population is doing?
Let me tell you.
While the rest of the nation all are spending money time and effort reaching... "people".... and only AFTER you reach them (having spend the money and /or effort) you figure out if they are motivated sellers or not. You spend what, 10K 20K 30K a month on mailers, commercials, radio ads, cold calling... and after you spend all that money you realize that 97% of the people you paid to reach, turn out they are not motivated at all. Ridiculous. Think about it. It is CRAZY!!! Nuts!!
Is it not painstakingly obvious that you should only spend time money and effort AFTER you know they are motivated?
This is a tremendously obvious flaw in the majority of investors here. I CAN NOT be the only one that figured this out right? NO WAY!
Then why do I NEVER see a podcast on that? That is a GLARING universal flaw in this entire space of REI, yet no one sees it?! Really??
It is almost as if BP has partnered or is sponsored by DMM companies or something and act on the interest of the sponsors rather than focusing where you can help people the most. How to give the most value. You have such a strong community here but it truly feels too... commercial. I get it people need to make money, but the podcasts could be such a powerful tool to focus more on helping all these new struggling investors rather then glorifying the podcast guests.
If I were to start some group, I would truly focus on data collection first. Analysis, figure out why so many people are struggling. Then develop content to truly educate and help people.
The reason SO many investors are failing is because of exactly this. The market is FULL of personal opinions, and not so much actual indisputable facts.
I read a whole debate on BP's stance on "ohh we are not responsible for the content of the podcasts " as BP was podcasting a thief and scammer.
My response to this is, what ever you want to "officially" call it, "not responsible" I lost all respect and credibility for BP podcasts. YES BP, you ARE responsible for the podcasts you put out no matter what the official stance is. YOU (BP) are getting a bad name for being part of the problem and spreading and marketing these scammers and seriously questionable advise on a lot of topics especially lead generation.
The fact of the matter is, no matter how you officially and legally protect your podcasts from blame or lawsuits, this is not helping anyone and therefore the podcasts are pretty much useless in my opinion. It is like podcasts are done for the sake of getting more admiration flowers and more members, instead of helping those that actually need help, succeed.
So my critique is...
dudes, focus on the people that need actual on the ground real help. Not fluff and poetic stories on how this cool dude made it big from a strategy no one is really going to apply or can apply as a beginner.
Let me give you an example.
One of the recent podcasts some dude was talking about:
Tarl:
The key right now is most people build their business and then take their life and try to get their life to fit their business, whatever they have left over. Instead, why don’t the people do it the other way around where they figure out what kind of life do they actually want to live and then design their business to fit that lifestyle?
https://www.biggerpockets.com/...This is the stuff I mean.. (this is why I can't watch more than 3 minutes of podcasts). Sure sounds so poetic and clever and awesome ... wake UP!!
People have mortgages, five 3 year old kids, have to bring their sick kids to the doctor while working 3 jobs to make ends meet.
So here comes this dude "Ohh why don't you figure out the fancy lifestyle you want to live and design your business around that". Are you kidding?
This is what I mean with stroking the egos of the podcast guests.
A lot of theory, not at all practical. Yes tell these folks to just figure out what lifestyle you want to live and design your business around that. I don';t think he has ever been poor or have ever been struggling.
YEAH. Why don't they just pick the life they want and ohh just design your business around that. Oh never mind all the responsibilities and all the money I don't have...
Lot of theory but very little actual practical in these podcasts.
I know this was blunt.. but I don't do sugar coating. It is what it is, and I hope you can extract valuable points here to better the whole podcast thing.
Now for the good.
A lot of you (you included) try hard to make this place the way it is and I applaud you for that. Keep up the good work! The fact you posted this post is obviously indication you try to do better.
So good on you!
Very good comment.It's very hard to find good deal and it's hard to find leads at all and all the courses and podcasts are full of success stories and promises of wealth instead of practical details and facts and solving problems. I am as new to this REI has a difficulty to assess what it need and if I am fit for that.
Ari, BELIEVE me when I tell you that you ARE fit, and capable for this. I promise you. You just need to think on your own and not blindly follow others and man I am telling you, It is not that hard!
- Member since 2020 · 24 posts · 10 votes6y
@Ari Hadar I agree with @Jerryll Noorden that there is a lot of fluff and hype with self proclaimed "Gurus" pitching their system. If we could all do deals virtually from the beach on our phone spending just 4 minutes a day we would, but until someone can really show me how to do it we need to focus on works. It doesn't mean there isn't good information out there, free and paid, whether it's videos, programs or communities. The difficulty, especially if you're a beginner, is differentiating the good from the bad. You're intelligent so follow your gut. If someone is tying to sell their program by just sharing testimonials and talking about their "System", you know if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Also, what is good for one person may not be good for the other. I know some Investors who have invested big money in training and mentorship programs that some people would say is a waste and you can learn yourself. If you ask them, it was more than worth it because it sped up the process of getting deals done and helped them avoid mistakes. Ultimately you need to do what is best for you. I would suggest two things.
1. Learn how to analyze your market. You're not investing in a national index and each market is different, so learn how to do a niche market analysis so you can you can pick the right strategies and invest safely.
2. Get hyper focused on one strategy. You don't have to know everything to start, but you have to start. The more I learn about REI the more I realize I don't know. There are so many different ways to invest, and if you try and tackle it all, it can be overwhelming. If you get hyper focused on one strategy and start putting in offers you're moving forward. As you start to get deals done your capacity will grow and you can take on more.
Lastly, if you are considering learning from someone else, ask them what are they currently working on right now. It doesn't matter what they did ten years ago, what are they doing today? Make sure they are doing the business and not teaching conceptually. Ask them to run a market analysis on your market and make them "Show you the work". And ask them to analyze a deal for you. Before telling you if it's good or bad, they should ask you questions about your goals, resources, time etc. What is a good deal for one person may not be for another based off of a lot of different variables.
You 100% can do this. Best of luck!
- 33578 · Member since 2020 · 13 posts · 2 votes6y
@Allison Leung Too many categories to ask a question in. I feel like it’s narrowing down potential answers.
- Real Estate Consultant · Ocala, FL · Member since 2017 · 10 posts · 1 vote6y
@Aigo Pyles how can I post something? I have an income producing property for sale and would like to share it on bigger pockets but not sure how.
- Investor · Merrillville, IN · Member since 2009 · 252 posts · 104 votes6y
@Allison Leung all I you all to improve at this point is to add the Filter option for keyword alerts to the mobile app. I like to read through the forums by using specific keywords and currently can only do this using the website. The good thing about this is that the website is mobile friendly so for now this works.
- 6yZach GringPro MemberRealtor · Saint Charles, IL · Member since 2020 · 126 posts · 101 votes
@Allison Leung
I know it already has been said but the tools on the app would be great and the bp insights. Overall app improvements would be great notifications seem delayed on app but very responsive on emails.
Thank you I find myself on here more often than my socials so thank you for providing it.
- Property Manager · Hayward, CA · Member since 2018 · 41 posts · 24 votes6y
More content for beginners and more examples of mistakes.
I know there's already a lot available, especially in the forums, but when it comes to the podcast, I feel like most of the guests are quite successful already. They're definitely inspirational but prefer to hear about people who are closer to the beginning of their investment career.
I really enjoyed the episode with guests confessing their mistakes. I also loved the Q&A episode.
I would love to see episodes on more specific topics, kind of like a course series. (Or actually offer courses?)
Examples:
An episode on all the different mortgage types, their advantages, disadvantages and limitations. Is a NACA mortgage good for investors? Can a First-Time Home Buyer mortgage be used once per spouse?
An episode covering all the different methods people find off-market deals.
Etc.
- Property Manager · Hayward, CA · Member since 2018 · 41 posts · 24 votes6y
A RE Marketing Podcast would be awesome.
Also, a podcast for Real Estate Agents would be great too. - Investor · Coastal Texas · Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 2 votes6y
I love mostly everything about BP! What a life changer it has been! If I was to change things, I would de-bug the app. About 1 in 10 times it works for me, as in won't even pull up the user interface. Plus, I really value having app based programs. Secondly, on the property analysis calculators - specifically the BRRRR (because that's what I use) it would be great if you could create blank drop down boxes in the rehab estimate because the ones listed doesn't necessarily cover all the rehab expenses. Then we could title each box to fit accordingly on top of what is already there! Thanks for all you do!
- Flipper/Rehabber · Memphis, TN · Member since 2020 · 758 posts · 285 votes6y
Originally posted by @Erika Vergara:
@Aigo Pyles how can I post something? I have an income producing property for sale and would like to share it on bigger pockets but not sure how.
You can post under marketplace.
- Boring, OR · Member since 2018 · 18 posts · 10 votes6y
I love the calculators. They are addicting. I would love to see some type of portfolio calculator. Maybe someone wants to buy 1 property a year for 10 years be really neat to see a calculator what their portfolio might look like 20 years out.
- Member since 2020 · 1 post · 2 votes6y
Would like to learn more about Exit Strategies - What does a full cycle of owning real estate property look like, particularly when the market crashes, unemployment goes up, tenants can't pay rent and wont vacate, legal fees, etc.? Should you have money set aside to cover something like this, how much? In the long run is this more fact or fiction?
New investor in Ca. and love learning about all this!
- Rental Property Investor · Westminster, MD · Member since 2014 · 165 posts · 221 votes6y
@Allison Leung
Improve app! Calculator, insights, post ability to add pictures.
- New to Real Estate · Madison, WI · Member since 2020 · 68 posts · 16 votes6y
@Allison Leung
Is there a way to bookmark a particular thread you are interested in on the BP app?
- 6yRyan XuPro MemberReal Estate Broker · Bellevue, WA · Member since 2020 · 95 posts · 65 votes
I do like the contents. Just wish the UI is less old fashion.
- Rental Property Investor · Winnipeg, MB · Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 5 votes6y
@Allison Leung it will be nice to have more Canadian inclined resources for members in Canada
- Investor · Montreal, QC · Member since 2019 · 24 posts · 6 votes6y
More Canadian information
- Member since 2020 · 36 posts · 18 votes6y
Add more features for mobile use! Deal analysis would be nice. Also, BPinsights seems a little outdated when it comes to viewing rents in the area
- Investor · Cokato, MN · Member since 2020 · 24 posts · 5 votes6y
@Allison Leung I was blocked from the email for they thought I was spam, Could you unblock me, Thank you very much!!!
- Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes6y
An easy way to view all of your most recent posts would be helpful, unless there is already a way to do that and I'm just not aware. Also, I feel like a good addition to BP Insights would be statistics and historical trends on how real estate is correlated with wealth. Example would be what % of people's wealth is typically in real estate, a way to view national and local property values dating back to when they started tracking,
- Specialist · Portland, OR · Member since 2019 · 81 posts · 88 votes6y
I love most of what BP is all about, and have found it generally more positive, inclusive and welcoming than most of the FIRE'd or early retirement forums out there. Good Work!
That being said, I also feel like the content is skewed largely to the mega-deals and multi-millionaires rather than the first time or small investors, which is still by far the norm. I assume if someone already made their way to BP they probably don't need the inspirational stories of those who "made it big" so much as they seek details on how to get started or when to call it quits.
I also feel like the overall "attitude" based on content/podcasts found here is focused on the mega-millions as where our experience from those that reach out to us for support, ideas, coaching, etc has been that most people don't actually have that as a realistic goal.
In our experience, most people don't have a desire to have 100s or 1000s of properties to manage or need to make millions of dollars. Most people would be stoked to simply make "enough". To have their portfolio allow them to find live/work balance. To make enough passive income to live the lifestyle they want rather than investing in dozens more properties every year and taking on the additional workload that comes with it.
Where is the basic truth that for most people, if they live simply and invest wisely in just a handful of investments... that they can hire someone to manage the portfolio, walk away from both the 9-5 and the investing, retire early and live the life they've always wanted? Isn't that actually the more common goal and aspiration of the average BP visitor/listener? Where are those stories? Where are the stories like ours that show that enough is actually enough??
Thanks for asking and for working to make BP a better place! - Member since 2019 · 1 post · 1 vote6y
Is there members of the Bigger pockets community in Canada? And are there resources for Canadians?
- New to Real Estate · Member since 2020 · 8 posts · 2 votes6y
I agree with a lot of posters that there is not enough content for beginners. We don't have the same level of motivation, income, or time as everyone else. I'm struggling to find a deal right now. I'm currently house hacking an hour away from San Francisco. But because of life events, i can't rent it out at fair market value. I can't ask my mother to leave or pay more. Family is more impotant than money, so evicting her is never going to happen.
And all this marketing about the brrr strategy is all good, but in order to even start, you have to find a good deal. Then when someone asks if something is a good deal, there's this generic answer "It depends. What's your strategy?, etc..." If we knew, we wouldn't be asking.
I think the question every new person is asking is:
1. Is this a good deal compared to other properties around me. I think it is and that's why I'm asking. No matter what strategy I use - brrr, fix and flip, buy and hold, i need to know if it is a good deal. If it's a good deal, any strategy will work. If you mess up during the strategy, like taking too long to get it rented, then that's your own fault and not because of the strategy. What is the best strategy for a beginner?
2. Will this proprty cash flow positive. If I'm going to rent it, out will it be cash flow positive. I'm new, I'm afraid I cannot rent it out and make any money. Help me ease my fears or validate it. Help me validate the numbers.
3. I am afraid to jump in because this is my entire life savings that I'm gambling with. What can you suggest to ease my fears?
I don't have analysis paralysis, I'm just afraid to lose my entire life savings.
So my suggestion to make bp better is to have something to help beginners. The beginner can bring in a deal and get others to answer any questions they have. Like a chat group with specific topics. Forums are not interactive enough and meetups are on a schedule that is only once a month.
There could be a room for general questions, new deal questions, fix and flip questions.
Oh and one more thing, put your money where your mouth is. If you're going to suggest to someone to partner up to get into a deal, offer to partner with them. We are beginners we don't know to even ask, or are afraid to ask for fear of rejection. That includes David Green and Brandon Turner. I challenge any person to take a newbie under their wings. Stop being a hypocrite by suggesting to others that they need to find an experienced mentor or coach, but then don't offer this to a beginner. I'm not suggesting they do everything for the beginner, but rather to be there to answer any questions.
The next person who makes a suggestion about how they should do this or that needs to stick with that person until the end. This would really be helpful.
For example, I can't get another loan because my debt to income ratio is too high. I posted this issue on a forum and they suggested I go to a credit union. I got rejected again. Because my post is so old, nobody is reading it so I'm back to figuring things out myself.
Forums are great, but it gets lost and after a while all of the answers are the same. Now that I can't get a loan, I'm looking into seller financing. I searched the forums and nothing is helpful. I can post a question, but I'm afraid it will get lost with all of the other posts. There's no specific forum for seller financing questions, and no moderator to check if questions are being answered. Now I just go to google to find my answers. I'm looking for an actual seller finance contract and want to find out how to keep from getting ripped off. And also to find out if I'm getting a good deal. I know the neighborhood and rental rates, but I just need a second opinion.
It would be great to have a place to post this issue knowing someone will help along the way. Almost like a vrtual coach or tutor, or just someone to provide specific answers.
The property listings also need to be updated. I found several properties in fresno that are still for sale after 1 year.
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