The 5 Biggest Mistakes New Investors Are Making Here In The Forums

[Jonathan Greene]

These are here to help you make better connections in the forums. It's ok to be new, but if you consider these five tips, you will get much better responses to your questions.

1. Writing too little or too much in a post looking for answers. There is a happy medium out there. If you write a novel, most of us won't read it because it's just too much. If you write too little, we have nothing to go on. Ask one question and tell everyone what you have done up to this point to get the answers. Also, give relevant information on rates, prices, square footage, etc.

2. Asking for a mentor without having anything to give. This is running rampant. It's great to get in the forums and look to make connections, but when you only put your hand out and ask for help and have nothing to give back, you are only going to get people who are going to pitch you. A few locals may reach out (more likely local agents), but you will never hear back if you hop on that call and only want to take from them.

3. Being fragile when you don't get the responses you want. If someone doesn't give you the answer you want and you clap back, your time in the forums will be short. Not because you will get removed but because you aren't open to advice. Sometimes, you will ask one question, but pros will have other questions to see if you are even asking the right question. Open forums aren't the best option if you are prone to fragility.

4. Asking questions without researching how often the same question has been asked. See "Should I start an LLC?" as an example. If you want to get the best responses, don't ask a question that has been asked a million times. Do your due diligence in the forums, looking for other answers, and use those to frame a better question.

5. Posting the same question in multiple forums. This is a definite no-no. Please stop. Pick one forum where your question makes the most sense. If it's a good question, we will find it. If you post the same question in several forums, we all know it's spam. You know it's spam. Don't spam.

If you are an experienced commenter here, let everyone know what you think of these to help them even more. Add some of your own.

If you are new, please use these to help yourself get better answers here.

[Kim Kelly]

Thanks Jonathan! This is a very helpful post, as a REI rookie.

REI can be very exciting, and a bit overwhelming when starting out. Looking forward to learning more.

[Dave Meyer]

Thanks for sharing @Jonathan Greene, I think its really beneficial of you to help newbies navigate the forums. These are great suggestions. 

I think generally I'd advise newbies to put themselves in the shoes of the person they want to reply. What will make an experienced investor want to answer your question? What information does an experienced investor need to understand my question fully? How can I ask a question specific enough that people can answer, without having to explain the entire process of buying real estate? Has this question been answered by my target responder many times before? 

To me its about being concise, specific, and curious. We have an amazing community here who wants to answer Newbie questions -- if you make it easy for us experienced investors, I'm confident you'll get great replies. 

[Angela M Alvaroe-Ciampo]

Very nicely said & organized! And I totally agree, I just posted about this, you have to be a Go-Giver, if you have not read this book, get it, I think there are actually 4 of these books now, but the first one (red cover) is the one I am referring to. Give something first - my example is simple - Can I cold call for you, I need to practice in this area anyways? Can I help you in some way? Etc. Then you say/ask what you need. 

I am a Subto student, so if anyone would like to learn about Subject-to or Seller Financing, I will make time for you. More tools in your tool belt = more success. Feel free to message me. I am a great Go-Giver and I can teach you, if you have an open mind. 

Flipping the coin over tho - I do believe that the newbies are lost & overwhelmed and all they can think of is questions!! Do you really blame them?? It's a lot coming into the Real Estate world. Sometimes you get lost & frustrated....

Ciao for now! And again, great post! Thank you!

[Chris Seveney]

@Jonathan Greene

Great feedback and agree

The best type of post that is a question outlines the situation, what research you have done and ask for confirmation or further direction.

The "what's the best state to invest in", "should rent or sell my home (with no other context) and the infamous transfer my property into a LLC - I wish BP could have AI charge people for asking those questions. Like if you wish to continue donate $10…

The other regarding asking for a mentor is true but also you need to know specifically what you believe in what you want to do and have a sold education on it - if you have no clue and no vocabulary, the quality mentor you get will not be what you probably are looking for.

[Kevin S.]

Quote from @Angela M Alvaroe-Ciampo:

Very nicely said & organized! And I totally agree, I just posted about this, you have to be a Go-Giver, if you have not read this book, get it, I think there are actually 4 of these books now, but the first one (red cover) is the one I am referring to. Give something first - my example is simple - Can I cold call for you, I need to practice in this area anyways? Can I help you in some way? Etc. Then you say/ask what you need. 

I am a Subto student, so if anyone would like to learn about Subject-to or Seller Financing, I will make time for you. More tools in your tool belt = more success. Feel free to message me. I am a great Go-Giver and I can teach you, if you have an open mind. 

Flipping the coin over tho - I do believe that the newbies are lost & overwhelmed and all they can think of is questions!! Do you really blame them?? It's a lot coming into the Real Estate world. Sometimes you get lost & frustrated....

Ciao for now! And again, great post! Thank you!

 I am a newbie and I agree with your post about newbies are lost and overwhelmed.  I am guilty of that.  Sometimes newbies are so "new' and have so many questions and on top of that don't know how to navigate this platform that they start firing questions right away.  For seasoned investors sometimes they are so seasoned that they forget how newbies are.  There are still a few seasoned contributors here I see who are gracious and answer the (what I call) 'stupid, inexperienced, low informed newbies questions".  God bless them.  I understand people need to get something in return for advising others.  Then there are others who just help because they want to.  I am thankful for a BP member who is advising and helping me as I start my journey and has no expectation of anything in return.  Bill if you are reading this, just a shout out to you and others who are helping newbies.

[Jonathan Greene]

Quote from @Dave Meyer:

Thanks for sharing @Jonathan Greene, I think its really beneficial of you to help newbies navigate the forums. These are great suggestions. 

I think generally I'd advise newbies to put themselves in the shoes of the person they want to reply. What will make an experienced investor want to answer your question? What information does an experienced investor need to understand my question fully? How can I ask a question specific enough that people can answer, without having to explain the entire process of buying real estate? Has this question been answered by my target responder many times before? 

To me its about being concise, specific, and curious. We have an amazing community here who wants to answer Newbie questions -- if you make it easy for us experienced investors, I'm confident you'll get great replies. 

Thank you for the great follow-up on this, my friend. This is a roadmap for new investors to be more intentional about their posts so they get more value out of it.

[Jonathan Greene]

Quote from @Angela M Alvaroe-Ciampo:

Very nicely said & organized! And I totally agree, I just posted about this, you have to be a Go-Giver, if you have not read this book, get it, I think there are actually 4 of these books now, but the first one (red cover) is the one I am referring to. Give something first - my example is simple - Can I cold call for you, I need to practice in this area anyways? Can I help you in some way? Etc. Then you say/ask what you need. 

I am a Subto student, so if anyone would like to learn about Subject-to or Seller Financing, I will make time for you. More tools in your tool belt = more success. Feel free to message me. I am a great Go-Giver and I can teach you, if you have an open mind. 

Flipping the coin over tho - I do believe that the newbies are lost & overwhelmed and all they can think of is questions!! Do you really blame them?? It's a lot coming into the Real Estate world. Sometimes you get lost & frustrated....

Ciao for now! And again, great post! Thank you!

Thanks for the response. For busy and experienced investors who answer many questions here, we often judge the intent of the question because good intentions will get better answers. If this can make people more intentional with their questions, they will get much farther, much quicker.

[Jonathan Greene]

Quote from @Chris Seveney:

@Jonathan Greene

Great feedback and agree

The best type of post that is a question outlines the situation, what research you have done and ask for confirmation or further direction.

The "what's the best state to invest in", "should rent or sell my home (with no other context) and the infamous transfer my property into a LLC - I wish BP could have AI charge people for asking those questions. Like if you wish to continue donate $10…

The other regarding asking for a mentor is true but also you need to know specifically what you believe in what you want to do and have a sold education on it - if you have no clue and no vocabulary, the quality mentor you get will not be what you probably are looking for.

Perfect follow-up, Chris. Thanks. Sometimes, new investors forget that we are trying to help them by doing things like this. Man, BP would be like Facebook if they charged for every question that gets re-asked more than 10 times. :)

[Wyatt Wolff]

Number 2 is a killer. Mentee's have to realize that there needs to be a true value exchange. Otherwise, just cruise around the forums and learn.  

And realize, sometimes even free work is overpriced. 

[Bill B.]

For me it’s 3 and 4. 

#3) you can usually tell ahead of time  and you can ALWAYS tell with the first response to any answers  

#4) what do to with X dollars, which market, which accounting software (my favorite), solar on my rental, etc etc. 

[Jonathan Greene]

Quote from @Bill B.:

For me it’s 3 and 4. 

#3) you can usually tell ahead of time  and you can ALWAYS tell with the first response to any answers  

#4) what do to with X dollars, which market, which accounting software (my favorite), solar on my rental, etc etc. 

Yeah, #3 is the one for me, too, because I am so matter-of-fact in my answers. I try to tell the fragile ones; why else would I bother responding unless it was to help you? I have better things to do.

[Andrew Syrios]

That's a pretty good list. I definitely tend to skip any questions that are way too vague or of the TLDR variety. 

[Michael P.]

What are the 5 biggest mistakes seasoned investors are making here in the forums? (jk)

[Kevin S.]

@Michael P.

Do you mean seasoned investors or seasoned contributors/specialists on this forum?

[Dan H.]

Quote from @Michael P.:

What are the 5 biggest mistakes seasoned investors are making here in the forums? (jk)

I know it was a joke …

The one I am guilty of is spending too much time on these forums. It is a good platform and I enjoy it, but I spend more time than I should on it.

[Michael S.]

Quote from @Michael P.:

What are the 5 biggest mistakes seasoned investors are making here in the forums? (jk)

 1.  Answering any post that starts with "I have one million in liquid cash and not sure what to do with it".  

2.  Putting "Columbus, OH" in any part of their post.

3.  Answering any post that starts with "I want to start investing and have no money".

4. Continuing to interact with posters who have no experience in REI, yet tell the experienced investor they are "wrong" or "old school" in their investing strategy.

5.  Conversing with any poster who is new and tells us how "great" their mentor program is that costs $20,000.  

[Steve K.]

Seasoned and Newbie investors alike, Never EVER mention Ohio 3 times… Ohio, Ohio, Ohio…

[Diane Chapman]

Quote from @Angela M Alvaroe-Ciampo:

Very nicely said & organized! And I totally agree, I just posted about this, you have to be a Go-Giver, if you have not read this book, get it, I think there are actually 4 of these books now, but the first one (red cover) is the one I am referring to. Give something first - my example is simple - Can I cold call for you, I need to practice in this area anyways? Can I help you in some way? Etc. Then you say/ask what you need. 

I am a Subto student, so if anyone would like to learn about Subject-to or Seller Financing, I will make time for you. More tools in your tool belt = more success. Feel free to message me. I am a great Go-Giver and I can teach you, if you have an open mind. 

Flipping the coin over tho - I do believe that the newbies are lost & overwhelmed and all they can think of is questions!! Do you really blame them?? It's a lot coming into the Real Estate world. Sometimes you get lost & frustrated....

Ciao for now! And again, great post! Thank you!

Great Post Angela!! I will order the red cover book from Amazon. I see that the two Authors are Joe Berg and John David Mann, correct??

[Jim K.]

@Jonathan Greene

I really feel there's just WAY too much personal fragility on display here in the forums. If your plans for the future are crushed and you feel like giving up because some dude on a web forum like me (whatever my "stats" are and what's in my profile) told you they were unrealistic, maybe I'm right and maybe I'm full of crap.

My wife and I are a fantastic example of how real estate can be a thoroughly viable option to change your life and find a way out of the rat race. I can't imagine another sector of the economy where anything like my story is even possible. But plenty of new posters really do seem to think I have nothing better to do than hang out here and tell them things to make them despair.

Real estate's hard. Hear everyone out and make your own decisions. And if you fail, at least you failed trying to change your stars, instead of sitting your life out.

[Mike Dymski]

Unfortunately, most of the questions asked illustrate little to no advance work (#1 and #4).  That is not a newbie, it's a neverbie.  I'm not saying this to be condescending.  It's just reality...if we can't read a couple of books, listen to podcasts, or perform basic searches in advance and then ask better questions, there is no way in heck we are going to buy a property.  

Lack of available information is not what prevents us from doing stuff...information is everywhere (school, books, podcasts, webinars, forums).  Lack of persistence/effort/need does.

“If more information was the answer, then we'd all be billionaires with perfect abs.”
― Derek Sivers

[Jonathan Greene]

Quote from @Andrew Syrios:

That's a pretty good list. I definitely tend to skip any questions that are way too vague or of the TLDR variety. 

Exactly. They should know how to get the best answers from us. Let's see if it helps.

[Jonathan Greene]

Quote from @Michael S.:

Quote from @Michael P.:

What are the 5 biggest mistakes seasoned investors are making here in the forums? (jk)

 1.  Answering any post that starts with "I have one million in liquid cash and not sure what to do with it".  

2.  Putting "Columbus, OH" in any part of their post.

3.  Answering any post that starts with "I want to start investing and have no money".

4. Continuing to interact with posters who have no experience in REI, yet tell the experienced investor they are "wrong" or "old school" in their investing strategy.

5.  Conversing with any poster who is new and tells us how "great" their mentor program is that costs $20,000.  

Cosigning this list, too!

[Jonathan Greene]

Quote from @Jim K.:

@Jonathan Greene

I really feel there's just WAY too much personal fragility on display here in the forums. If your plans for the future are crushed and you feel like giving up because some dude on a web forum like me (whatever my "stats" are and what's in my profile) told you they were unrealistic, maybe I'm right and maybe I'm full of crap.

My wife and I are a fantastic example of how real estate can be a thoroughly viable option to change your life and find a way out of the rat race. I can't imagine another sector of the economy where anything like my story is even possible. But plenty of new posters really do seem to think I have nothing better to do than hang out here and tell them things to make them despair.

Real estate's hard. Hear everyone out and make your own decisions. And if you fail, at least you failed trying to change your stars, instead of sitting your life out.

The fragility is at an epic level in forums. My favorite is when you answer with the smartest advice for them and they say, "I asked you how to succeed, not how I am not going to." Ok.

[Jonathan Greene]

Quote from @Mike Dymski:

Unfortunately, most of the questions asked illustrate little to no advance work (#1 and #4).  That is not a newbie, it's a neverbie.  I'm not saying this to be condescending.  It's just reality...if we can't read a couple of books, listen to podcasts, or perform basic searches in advance and then ask better questions, there is no way in heck we are going to buy a property.  

Lack of available information is not what prevents us from doing stuff...information is everywhere (school, books, podcasts, webinars, forums).  Lack of persistence/effort/need does.

“If more information was the answer, then we'd all be billionaires with perfect abs.”
― Derek Sivers

I've always said the worst question a real estate investor can get from someone looking to invest is, "How do I become a real estate investor?" This shows you want the shortest short-cut and don't want to do any work. Also, you will never do what we tell you to do because it's hard, not easy, so...

[Nicholas L.]

@Jonathan Greene

totally agree with you.  i always wonder... if you're told either that you haven't done your homework, or that a crazy plan is not viable, or whatever... and you get all defensive and lash out... how are you going to handle an eviction?  or a tough situation with a contractor?  or... any actual conflict with actual stakes?

unfortunately there's all the hype on social media - plus some of the content from 5-10 years ago when the market was a lot more forgiving that is now out of date.  but it's critically important that new investors get un-hyped before they lose their life savings on a bad deal.