PM and Colleague Request Etiquette

[Jason Munck]

Hey BP Nation!

I'm new to the community...not just this community but ANY online community. BiggerPockets is the first site to actually get me interested in engaging in any kind of online group. There are some good sticky forum posts on etiquette in the forums but I didn't find much on PM/Colleague requests.

What would you say are good and bad manners when it comes to PM and Colleague Requests?

@Joshua Dorkin and James Vermillion pointed out in a post the importance of leaving a personalized message on your colleague request. Anything else I should keep in mind while networking on the site?

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/25/topics/81082-colleague-requests

Look forward to hearing what everyone thinks.

Thanks,

Munck

[Bill Gulley]

All great stuff above!

A few things I guess.

1. Try not to ask vague questions, the more specific you can be the better the replies will (or should) be. Certainly doesn't mean you need to be an expert before asking a question, but asking "How should I buy a property to rent" won't get much, asking "How do I figure the 2% Rule on This" might get better results.

2. Fill out your profile, if you're brand new tell us, if you have 15 years of Commercial risk analysis please say so, we all have to assume knowledge if it's not stated, says a ton of posts.

3. Fill in your location so we can see what state we are talking about, we can't advise an installment sale in Texas or tell you to deed a property over in PA with transfer taxes being due.

4. Try to give applicable information in the question, if it's about a loan we need certain types of info, not a big deal as we can ask, but if you were denied a conventional loan you might give some details as that determines which way to advise. OTH, there is also too much information, try to keep it short, no life history needed, save that for introductions, we do want to get to know everyone.

5. Organize you questions. Might number them making them stand out. If we see 7 or 8 questions in paragraph form and have to read them over and over to pick them out, we may not bother until other aspects are explained. Even better, ask three questions, get answers and then ask three more as they may pertain. You'll get more people addressing two questions than ten.

6. We don't grade posts, but good sentence structure makes a good impression and will make your post better understood. Posts that are hard to understand are usually ignored.

Lastly, it's considered rude to disagree with that guy Financexaminer, avoid that at all costs, he has a reputation of being very gruff and has little tolerance for those who disagree with him. He's an older grumpy guy, but sometimes he can give good advice, which is the only reason we put up with him!

;))