Davenport , IA · Member since 2011 · 213 posts · 265 votes
Hi all. I am thining about trying to set up a local get-together for BP members who live in the area. I searched "Pittsburgh" to see how many users are from the area, but I dont know how the search results are presented (most posts..? Most recent posts? etc...).
Additonally, there are some BP members from the region who put their town on their profile--NOT Pittsburgh. Is there a way to search for members based on their zip code or something other than city name?
How can I reach out to as many of them as possible without having to send individual messages to each person (since there are a bunch)?
Hello. As you can see several posts above we had to cancel that meeting since the location was shut down. We can do another one but there is a local investor who does informal get-togethers already once a month on Thursday evenings. I am going to get in touch with him and try to round up some BP members to attend that gathering. Ill let you guys know.
My business partner @matthewficorilli and I would certainly be interested in a meetup as well. We will follow along for any updates. Good to see others from Pittsburgh finding Bigger Pockets as well.
Hi everyone! I'm so excited to have found this thread! I just joined a "meet-up" group that seems to hold a monthly meeting, but all the way out in White-Oak. I also plan to start attending Acre meetings starting with the next one. I would love to be included in any meetup you guys might be planning!
Anissa,
I seen that group listed on the meet-up website and thought about attending since it is close by. Have you ever went? I am just wondering what type of meeting it is and the material they cover. Either way, I am sure it is worth it simply for the networking.
Jarred, I have not had the opportunity to check them out yet. A friend of mine who is active in the Pgh real estate market (who I know to be a wealth of information) will actually be speaking at the next meeting which I plan to attend. I am part of a facebook group which I recognize Jennifer Lee from (I don't know her, just that she is in the fb group) called Pittsburgh Real Estate Investors that I believe the guy coordinating the meetings in White Oak is the administrator of. The group on fb is informative and does a great job of connecting people from the area; helping them with things like finding a stager, an agent, attorney's, and so on. If you can't make the next meeting (April 18th at 6:30), I can let you know how it goes. Knowing Josh (who will be the speaker), you will probably get some great info though!
Kenneth E. Jennifer Lee Ian M. Daniel Croce Leah Hibbard Sergiu Spinu Blaise P. Rege Beattie Jarred S. Anissa Coury Hey all you Pittsburgh real estate investors! Just read this thread and thought I'd chime in.
BP is a fantastic resource, but I found it lacking in bringing local investors together. I'm a member of Pittsburgh's Acre association, and I think it's a great organization. The problem that I personally had with Pittsburgh's investors associations is that they are on the other side of town from me, approximately 45 minutes away from my area. I think this keeps alot of investors in my area from attending regularly and/or joining. In short, I just didn't feel like I was making enough contacts with investors who were investing in my specific market.
So I joined a few real estate Meetup groups. But again, the closest one at that time was in Greensburg, which again was 45 minutes from me. I made some fantastic friends there, but they were still not as local as I was looking for. So about 6 months ago I started my own Meetup group, which holds monthly meetings in White Oak. This group is growing strong and I'm very glad I started it.
What I soon found was that Meetup's platform wasn't very user friendly, and members in our group were having a hard time connecting or staying connected throughout the month. That sprung the idea of starting a Facebook group for Pittsburgh area real estate investors. Facebook's platform, as you know, is very user friendly. Our FB group is only about 4 months in the making and we're already up to 140+ members. I must say that I've made more connections with local investors through this group than anything else I've done. My vision for the Facebook group is to grow it over the next several years so that it becomes the go-to place for Pittsburgh / Western Pa investors. I would like to emphasize that this isn't "my" group, nor do I want it to be. This group is for us - Pittsburgh area RE investors. I appreciate everyone who is participating in the group and I would be grateful if you could continue to spread the word about it.
Great info. Although, I have a personal commitment to avoid Facebook at all times I may actually have to bring down that wall if it will help grow my business. lol
I will put the dates in my calender and will plan on attending. Is there anything I need to do before showing up? Any sign up material or anything like that? Sounds rather informal which is always nice.
Kenneth E. I still would be very interested in a BP meeting. I never understood why there was such a disconnection with the people I see at ACRE and the people on BP. It would be nice to network with people from BP as I am so used to receiving such good information here. It is also easy to contact people whenever needed.
Hi Everyone, I'm a total newbie but Pittsburgh is my hometown and I'd like to start investing there. I was hoping to connect with other investors in the Burgh and learn everything I can to invest wisely (and eventually give back).
Nicole Goss Thats awesome to hear. Are you in the area often? I am a beginning investor myself so I may have just went through some of the things that you are looking to do for the immediate future. If you need any contacts on setting your LLC up or any specific contacts I may be able to help. It's been quite a journey for my partner and I but so much fun at the same time. I think you're making a great decision. Stay in touch on here as it is a great place to find the information and people you need.
Jerry Kisasonak I see you are from Mckeesport. I grew up not far from there in Wilmerding. I know most of the area well but one part I do not know much about it Mckeesport. I am planning on attending the meeting on the 19th maybe we can talk a little more there. My partner and I have an agent as well as wholesalers sending us home lists and there are so many from Mckeesport on there. To be honest, we haven't given them much attention. Do you invest in your hometown a lot?
Jarred S. I do invest in my hometown, but I actually don't live in Mckeesport. It's one of those postal zip code things. In short, I live in Versailles Borough but when you put my zip code into a map it pulls it up as Mckeesport. That's why everywhere online it shows my address as Mckeesport. I don't live far from Mckeesport though.
Anyway, you're right, there are alot of properties that come up for sale in Mckeesport. I caution against buying anything there unless you know the area well. There's deals to be done there and money to be made, but if you're unfamiliar with the market you can lose your shirt (and your copper) quick! The rental market is strong there, but again, if you buy a rental in the wrong area it will likely do nothing but cause you headaches and be a management nightmare. I invest there sparingly, and even at that I do so only because I have over a decade's experience in managing rental properties and I know when a good deal is truly a good deal. Probably 9 out of 10 applicants are bad tenants. You've got to know which ones the 9 are and which one the 1 is.
The last property I bought there I flipped. Flipping in that area is very tricky too, but can be done. That one I bought for 3K, sold for 16K, and netted ~10K when all the dust settled.
If you have leads in that area and you want me to look at them let me know. And looking forward to seeing you at the next meeting!
Jerry Kisasonak Can you post details about the next RE gathering you are setting up? That will allow some of these folks the chance to get together. My schedule is crazy these days and I wont be able to attend most likely if its on a Thursday night.
Thanks for thinking of me Ken. We are having our free monthly get-together this Thursday (18th) at Luciano's Restaurant in White Oak at 6:30Pm. Josh Adamek will be our guest speaker. He has experience in wholesaling, landlording and fix & flipping. He is primarily doing the fix and flip business model right now, and will be covering that topic. Him and his partner are flipping around 25 homes a year. Message me and let me know if you'll be attending as seating is limited. It's gonna be a blast!
Thank you for organizing this. I will be coming to town late Thursday or Friday morning and do not think I can make it. Please keep me posted RE future events.
Sorry,
I have a conflict and will not be able to attend. I hope to be able to make the next one. Please let us know how it goes and what was discussed.
For those of you who can't make it tomorrow evening if you want me to put you on our email list for the group please message me with your email and I'll add you. I send out notifications to those on the list several days prior to the meeting... a "heads up" if you will. To those of you how are coming this month, see you there! Thanks!
Jerry Kisasonak Had a great time at the last meeting at Lucianos. I believe it is scheduled for the 3rd Thursday of each month. If that is the case I will be there. You also mentioned a meeting at Joio's in North Huntington. Do you know what day that is held on?
Jarred S. Glad to hear you had a great time at last month's meeting. Thanks for stopping out! And you're correct, we get together the third Thursday of the month (although next month, June, happens to be an exception - it will be the 4th Thursday the 27th).
The best way to keep updated on the meetings is by being a member of these groups:
You also asked about the meeting at Jioio's Restaurant. That's Otis' group, and yes, they get together the third Tuesday of each month in Irwin. Here's his meetup group:
http://www.meetup.com/lawc-meetup-com/
Hope this helps!
(Name-dropping Pittsburgh Pa so the keywords are pinged)
Jkisasonak, will be in Pittsburgh on thurs 5/16 and would like to attend your meeting if possible. Was unable to log in to the website you mentioned. Can you send me details for the meeting, thanks, Frank, [email protected]