Is It Worth Upgrading to Pro Just For the Calculators?

[Damien Rance]

Hi Biggerpockets community,

I am at the start of my investing career and am trying to analyze 5 properties a day to become more proficient in what is a good vs. bad deal, and what to offer on a property. I have used my 5 free Biggerpockets calculator analysis and was considering upgrading to a Pro membership to continue analyzing deals. 

I am wondering if anyone has feedback on the Biggerpockets calculators worth, or is there a free or similar service at a lower price point? What deal analysis tools do you use? If you have any excel spreadsheets that are better off or the same thing, could you please share with myself? 

I hope you can share your analysis tools to help me become the investor I have set out to be. 

Thank you!

- Damien 

[Trevor Carlson]

Hi Damien,

I am a BP newbie too. I have been listening to the podcasts for the last five months incessantly. I bought a pro membership a couple of weeks ago and have been analyzing deals everyday since. Before the membership I was using a spreadsheet to analyze deals for potential rentals. I am good with numbers and this system worked fine. However, I think there is HUGE value in the pro membership for the following reasons:

* The calculator's presentation, as you know, is phenomenal. The professional look of the PDF is far better than my simple spreadsheet. I do think this will be helpful when talking to lenders and potential partners.

* The BRRRR calculator is great for more complex calculations that could easily yield errors when trying to figure it out on a spreadsheet. I wouldn't suggest using a spreadsheet for these calculations unless you are supremely confident in the process.

* The BP site has other great resources and perks besides the calculators. And you can get a discount if you sign up for a free webinar.

* For me, paying for a year's subscription reinforced my commitment to buy my first rental property this year. It removed any lingering psychological barrier. I have no excuse now. I am going to do the work necessary to find my first deal.

I hope this helps. Good luck in your journey.