What makes you a heavy hitter on BP?

Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 338 posts · 444 votes

Ok, let me say I'm really asking because I'm bored today with sheltering in place! But I've been for some reason seeing the phrase "heavy hitters" popping up more than I remember on BP, referring to a particular group forum contributors.

So what do you think makes someone a heavy hitter here? Is it just the number of posts and likes a person gets? Is it whether they've appeared on the podcast or spoken at an event? Is it their wisdom or an assumption about their net worth? There are definitely investors on BP who have a larger sphere of influence and therefore probably receive both the outsized praise (and criticisms) that comes with real estate forum fame. Is it all well-deserved??

If you're one of those folks, what do you think about about being niche-internet-famous?! (Feel free to tag people you want to hear answer that question!).

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Russell BrazilBusiness Member

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Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes

Thanks for those that mentioned me. There has been a few points where I came to understand the power of the BP website into getting your name out there. The first time I was trading in my cell phone at the tmobile store, and the clerk kept looking at me, and my name on the computer while we were talking...and he finally asked me, are you Russell Brazil from Biggerpockets. Now I was use to people sort of knowing who I was at real estate events, but not in sort of random environments like the cell phone store. The next time was at a conference, and I just sort of ended up in the hallway with about 4 or 5 people and one of them was the keynote speaker, and about 10 minutes he was like your Russell Brazil from BP. So I was like wow, I cant believe this hugely famous person in our industry knew who I was.

This website and its members however have contributed immensely to my business, helped me to build my wealth, and I in turn contribute back into this site. It is for me a hugely symbiotic relationship. Many of my real life closest friends are people who I have met through this site. There are 22 BP moderators, (and a few past moderators) and getting the chance to be a part of that group has given me access to some of the best real estate minds in the country.

Im a huge believe that people should do what they love for a living. My 3 largest passions are real estate, investing, and personal finance. As a real estate agent and investor, I get to live my dream, and luckily my passions happen to be in fields that produce a high income. What some may, or may not know is that the largest percentage of my time spent working in my profession, is contributing to the BP forums. For me, it hasnt been the podcast, nor blogging on the site that return to me anything either financially or in satisfaction.....but posting in the forums returns both the satisfaction to share my passions and help educate others, but it also has had the largest financial return for me of anything in my business. These forums are perhaps the key reason Ive been able to become a top 1% real estate agent. (Though at the very bottom of that 1% percentile) I will actually be speaking at BPCon this October, if it ever happens on the subject of how vendors (agents, lenders, inspectors etc) can use the site to grow their business.

I do admit though, I like the votes, just like people like the likes and hearts on other social media sites. I am the 2nd biggest vote getter on the site behind @Jay Hinrichs.

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Kai Van Leuven
Investor · USA · Member since 2015 · 325 posts · 447 votes
6y
@Peter Johnson
A few of my cop buddies love Fortney. I am not quite sure yet. He definitely speaks his mind and I can respect that!
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Account Closed
Rental Property Investor · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 893 votes
6y
@Robert J Carlson
Number of posts is purely correlation. It's all about quality of contribution. There are plenty of faces that pop up on this forum a lot that say a whole lot of nothing as well.
I would say I respect the posters who have a range of experience, have actually done a lot of deals, and also have bilateral opinions that see what may be legitimate and illegitimate about both sides of a topic tend to earn my respect. If they have a lot of posts, it just means that I have a higher chance of encountering their wise and often helpful advice more often. The last bit is when you hear the popular investors here speak about topics they specialize in, and shut up about the stuff where they have little experience. If you own a real estate brokerage and 5 sfr rentals, I want to hear you talk about retail real estate, and will be highly dismissive on advice regarding acquisition strategy.
I really enjoy posts from Brian Burke and Chris Clothier. Track record outside of the BP universe matters a lot to me. Without that, it's like getting a personal trainer who's out of shape.
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Robert C.
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Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 338 posts · 444 votes
6y
@Jim K., Way to take the phrase to a whole other level! I ain't going there... You and @Joe Cassandra, though, bring up there is a reason the words "heavy hitter" jumped out at me. It's a weird way to describe other people on a forum, isn't it? Not to analyze too much, but it makes it seem like there's some huge power imbalance - weighted towards people we actually don't know much about. I guess it just bothers the egalitarian in me, which is why I called it out. Luckily, I don't think most of the folks mentioned here take the status all that seriously... haha... otherwise that would be frightening.
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JD MartinBusiness Member
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Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 17k+ votes
6y
Also I had trouble tagging:

@Nicole A., @Ryan Murdock
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JD MartinBusiness Member
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Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 17k+ votes
6y
@Mindy Jensen @Ned Carey @Greg H.
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Russell BrazilBusiness Member
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Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Joe Cassandra:
Another entrepreneur forum I've been partially active on for years had 2-3 'heavy hitter's who everyone flocked to for advice who turned out to be fakeprenenurs/slimeballs.

Having been a part of a few forums in the past, I never put someone into an "expert" category until I've seen hard proof of their success.

(What's great about BP is at least you have to use your real name...no dumb screenames. )
***
Most local volume players where I am (Atlanta) aren't on BP...much less heard of it. Guys private lending 7-figures, etc.
A friend from college started here on BP in like 2009 or something. (I won't tag him), and he was very active, and as he got more and more successful, he's posted less and less.
****
Maybe others can set me straight...
Sure, there are many people on here with over 1k posts, you could assume are 'heavy hitters' meaning
1) They know what they're talking about + provide value
2) They are presumed to be very successful at RE
I struggle with the term 'heavy hitters' because most successful people I know (in RE and other arenas) are usually extremely busy.
If I was making buckets of money in RE, why would I spend a ton of time writing up thousands of posts on a forum? ( I wouldn't). Eventually, as you move up the success ladder, you want to hang out with people at your level.
i.e.
A 'heavy hitter' on BP could be someone who provides a ton of value.
Does that mean they're a 'heavy hitter' in RE...I dunno.

I can enlighten you as to why many people spend time posting on BP, making videos for them, doing webinars.....because doing so helps to build our wealth and make us a ton of money, while also being one of the funnest ways to make money. Every time I post a forum reply, thats worth about $150 to me. And thats just the agent side of my business. I borrow hard money at lower rates because of the exposure of the site. I get calls on deals from the exposure of the site. Theres some where in the range of 100 or so BP people who have learned to monetize the site......and the site in turn monetizes our contributions. Its no surprise that you see most of us who largely contribute are not just successful, but also tend to be the same people speaking at all the same conferences, as we monetize the exposure that those speaking engagements bring.
i could drop $50,000 on marketing campaigns.....or I can post 25 times a week on these forums and do some FB lives once a month. Whether its being an agent, a lender, a syndicator, a cpa, a flipper.....across so many of the disciplines, weve figured out that we can build businesses off the back of this company, and doing it this way is way more fun and fulfilling than the other more traditional and boring ways to do it.
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Robert C.
OP
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 338 posts · 444 votes
6y
@Russell Brazil, Mind if I ask how that $150 number comes about? Is that based on business generated divided by number of posts?
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Russell BrazilBusiness Member
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Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Robert C.:
@Russell Brazil, Mind if I ask how that $150 number comes about? Is that based on business generated divided by number of posts?

Exactly. Dollar value of business generated per year from BP divided by number of posts per year. Some years its a little higher, sometimes a little lower,.but that seems to be the average over the last 4 years or so.
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Robert C.
OP
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 338 posts · 444 votes
6y
@Russell Brazil, Impressive. Thanks for the share - I think you just proved the type of treasures available on BP. Now if only I were an agent...
1 Reply
Ali Boone
Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @JD Martin:
OK, I finally got around to actually posting like I mean it here (was busy doing a rehab!)

On BP as a "quick and dirty", for people I don't know, I will generally look at post to vote ratio. Especially over 1,000, it usually ends up that the people who are making the most insightful posts tend to even out or outrun their post count. Thus, while voting for a post can be a popularity contest, and it's always possible that any poster might hit "gold" with a post here and there, time and volume tend to even things out.

The other thing is after you've been here long enough - I think I've been an actual member for maybe 5 years and a lurker maybe a couple years besides that - you start to recognize names and remember advise and information they've posted.

Anyway, here's a bunch of my favorites (until BP cuts me off on autolinking):

@Ali Boone
I don't know if they qualify as "heavy hitters" or not, but they are thoughtful and insightful and I usually learn something from their posts.

Thanks for the shout-out JD!

1 Reply
David Krulac
Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
@JD Martin, Thank you for inclusion in your list with so many of the BP contributors that I so admire, respect and look up to for their wisdom and advise.
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Shiloh LundahlPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
6y
@Russell Brazil I’m in agreement that one can build a great business through connections made through BiggerPockets. I would say that each post that I have written equals about $500 - $600 in private money raised which has helped me grow a sizable portfolio over the past 3 years that I don’t think I would have been able to grow on my own nearly as quickly.
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Greg H.Pro Member
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Broker/Flipper · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
6y
Great list of "Heavy Hitters" listed here. I respect all of those listed here for their various expertise in a variety of areas.
Personally, I tend to stay in my lane so to speak on BP. There are a few topics that I have experience in and try to give back in those areas.
5 Reply
Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Joe Cassandra:
Another entrepreneur forum I've been partially active on for years had 2-3 'heavy hitter's who everyone flocked to for advice who turned out to be fakeprenenurs/slimeballs.

Having been a part of a few forums in the past, I never put someone into an "expert" category until I've seen hard proof of their success.

(What's great about BP is at least you have to use your real name...no dumb screenames. )
***
Most local volume players where I am (Atlanta) aren't on BP...much less heard of it. Guys private lending 7-figures, etc.
A friend from college started here on BP in like 2009 or something. (I won't tag him), and he was very active, and as he got more and more successful, he's posted less and less.
****
Maybe others can set me straight...
Sure, there are many people on here with over 1k posts, you could assume are 'heavy hitters' meaning
1) They know what they're talking about + provide value
2) They are presumed to be very successful at RE
I struggle with the term 'heavy hitters' because most successful people I know (in RE and other arenas) are usually extremely busy.
If I was making buckets of money in RE, why would I spend a ton of time writing up thousands of posts on a forum? ( I wouldn't). Eventually, as you move up the success ladder, you want to hang out with people at your level.
i.e.
A 'heavy hitter' on BP could be someone who provides a ton of value.
Does that mean they're a 'heavy hitter' in RE...I dunno.
my feedback on your comment about having the time to post on BP if you making money.. that flips two ways if your making good money then you HAVE time to post.. Its a new world for me this social media stuff Look at facebook how many folks hang out there constantly.. I cant follow it very well so I basically look at it for a minute but rarely say anything.. Unless its family. Linkdin for me is to complicated to use.. But I have an account and look at it rarely. Maybe someone on this site works at linkdin and can help me :) Now u tube that I just discovered. And I don't have Instagram or twitter.. Although when I had lunch with Brandon Turner over I Maui in Dec he mentioned that he thought Instagram was a very valuable tool. But in general I agree with you.. the biggest Real estate hitters I Know in each market I frequent you don't see on BP.

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Steven Pesavento
Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2015 · 177 posts · 71 votes
6y
Originally posted by @Robert C.:
Thanks for all your responses. There are some interesting insights here in how we define expertise among peers, and what makes a contributor trustworthy.

@Steven Pesavento, Number of deals is an interesting metric. It certainly points to more experience, and yet comparing that number doesn't necessarily translate to equal financial success. I'm sure a lot of people assume that folks who have made more money are better suited to give advice.

I agree - in Real Estate Investing making money is the biggest metric for success. I think Volume Speaks to Experience, as I'd rather learn from someone who's complete 10 deals in 10 years than someone who made money on one deal.
So to that for you what you're saying is your definition of a heavy hitter on BP is about how much money someone made.
--> How do you know someone's a heavy hitter than?
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Joe SplitrockPro Member
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Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
6y
@Robert C. by definition the term heavy hitter is "one who is important or influential". Influence on BiggerPockets is directly related to quality and frequency of content such as blog posts, forum posts, books, Youtube and podcast presence. The most influential person on BiggerPockets, hands down, is @Brandon Turner as there is nobody who has produced more meaningful content. Not a week goes by that I don't see someone post "Brandon Turner says" in the beginning of a sentence.

I never really thought about being internet famous, until I was at BPCON2019. I met people who said, "oh you are Joe Splitrock". I never came to BP with the intent of generating leads or revenue. For me it is about social interaction and having other landlords to discuss day-to-day life with. My general circle of friends and family are not investors / landlords, so it is hard to connect that part of my life with them.

I have posted on every topic imaginable. From plumbing problems to relationship advice, it is crazy how many questions people have. I am willing to take a stab at answering any question and I have learned so much in the process. That is not just my internet persona. In real life, I am willing to tackle just about any project and I have done a little bit of everything. I love learning new things and having new experiences.

Being invited to be a moderator by @Mindy Jensen was one of the biggest compliments I have ever received. It was validation that my content is meaningful and objective. It is not hard to post a lot of content, but having original ideas and adding to a discussion in a meaningful manner is difficult.

As far as people that I consider heavy hitters, it includes a large variety of people, including people who don't always agree with me. In fact, we often learn MORE from people who disagree with us, because they challenge our way or thinking. Most people choose to ignore people who disagree with them, which is why some people never change.

I started tagging people and realized I would leave someone important out. If you are mentioned and didn't see your name in this post, it means you were tagged and I deleted it.

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Charlie MacPherson
China, ME · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
6y
I agree with @Greg H. I respect those who stay in their lane and come from a place of contribution. Many on that list have already been named, so I'm not going to go over the list again.
My strategy on BP is to virtually never ask for business. I'm not a follower/fan of Gary V, but his book "Jab, Jab, Jab, Right hook" is on point. His theory is to give, give, give and only then, ask.
There are a very few posters on BP (no names or services mentioned in order to preserve peace) who INCESSANTLY brag about how great they are at what they do, with thinly veiled self-promoting posts.
Even if you're very good at what you do, let others tell that story and you'll do a lot better. If you constantly bang the drum about how everybody else is doing it wrong and only you are doing it right, it's just obnoxious - even if it's true.
The other thing that worries me is people giving bad advice.
I've seen genuinely dangerous suggestions on everything from fair housing to lead and asbestos remediation. Fair housing is especially state-dependent. No state can have fair housing restrictions that are less than federal standards, but many are more restrictive.

One now-missing poster from Ontario was giving horrible tenant selection and self-help eviction advice that would get a landlord eviscerated by the courts in Massachusetts, where the OP was from.
That said, I've learned a LOT from posters here at BP. To all of those, THANK YOU - I really appreciate your contributions!

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Todd Dexheimer
Rental Property Investor · St. Paul, MN · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
6y
What I find interesting is the number of "heavy hitters" that are actually doing deals. At first I figured the people on BP contributing a lot were has beens or wanna be's, but after spending time on here, getting to know many and appreciating the BP community, I see that's the farthest from the truth.
The consistent members that have been here for years are providing great value and are actually doing the business themselves, with success! It's great to be apart of the BP community!!!
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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
6y
@Joe Splitrock it amazing when people recognize your name off of the site..
my favorite was in the Alaska Air board room in PDX one EARLY morning.. the sign in for the room is a finger print then your name pops up on a I pad like device. lady behind me says are you the Jay from BP.. LOL .. Went to buy shoes same thing with the person helping me.. Then my Pharmacist ( really nice guy) when I get my flu shot poke we talk a little real estate :)
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Brian BoydPro Member
USA · Member since 2019 · 305 posts · 536 votes
6y
@Jay Hinrichs - You are a rock star!!!
I hope you are well and healthy.
Best Regards,
Brian
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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Todd Dexheimer:
What I find interesting is the number of "heavy hitters" that are actually doing deals. At first I figured the people on BP contributing a lot were has beens or wanna be's, but after spending time on here, getting to know many and appreciating the BP community, I see that's the farthest from the truth.
The consistent members that have been here for years are providing great value and are actually doing the business themselves, with success! It's great to be apart of the BP community!!!
its a fine line from self promotion.. but I would love to see folks use the Deal Diaries more often were you are allowed to show case your current or past deals.. and how you structured them ext.. I think that if that was used more it would certainly help others think through their transactions.. without breaking the self promotion rules?

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Robert C.
OP
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 338 posts · 444 votes
6y
@Jay Hinrichs, I'm not surprised the #1 vote getter probably has the most name recognition in the real world!

@Steven Pesavento, I'm not saying that I believe earnings is the #1 metric. I do think a lot of people believe that, though, and they probably assume certain folks on BP make a lot without actually knowing (so I consider it flawed thinking). You're exactly right, there's no way to verify without getting to know people better and understanding their operation through networking. Most people here are unwilling to share exact wealth numbers, myself included.

@Joe Splitrock, Open mindedness is another one of those things that's easy to say, hard to do.

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Nicole Heasley Beitenman
Investor · Youngstown, OH · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Robert C.:
Everyone is marketing themselves online (whether on purpose or incidentally), and there are more and more podcasts being produced, and interviews being given in Real Estate and all sorts of other categories. I wonder if most people are using the right criteria to decide who to listen to? Or maybe there's a new paradigm/cultural shift where people have to be more independent thinkers because there are soooo many influencers around?
It's true there are lots of communities and platforms out there. What I've found is that the more you become known as a resource, the more these communities and platforms will come to you and ask you to speak on their podcast or write for their blog.

1 Reply
Nicole Heasley Beitenman
Investor · Youngstown, OH · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
I don't understand the one-hit BP wonders. It's such a shame they don't see the value in regular participation.
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Nicole Heasley Beitenman
Investor · Youngstown, OH · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
@JD Martin I feel like I just got inducted into the Rock and Roll HOF. Feels like just yesterday I stumbled onto the site and got so overwhelmed by how much stuff was on here.

@Robert C. I think dedication to BP is what makes you a heavy hitter. I've incorporated BP into my daily routine by setting it as one of my home tabs. When my browser pops up, BP pops up. I make sure to contribute a little bit each day (although my efforts have been lagging as I adjusted to a new job and then had to adjust doing that new job from home full-time). When I was able to afford it, I upgraded to a pro membership. I do these things not only because they've contributed to my own professional growth, but because I want to give back to the platform that became the foundation of my real estate business. I work to be a heavy hitter because I want BP to be a heavy hitter.
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