How comfortable are you to share..

[Neal Little]

So I have an issue to discuss regarding sharing info on deals online.  Since the whole basis of this practice is essentially the 'hunt' for good deals, does anyone else worry about how much info to share? 

 Has anyone ever lost a deal because someone swooped in on you? Did you suspect it was due to oversharing?

With these new crowdfunding lenders, how restricted or regulated are they regarding info sharing?  I would hate to lose a deal while looking for funding because someone heard about the deal and back doored me.

I have had a couple examples of this in my experience, and wonder if anyone else has a story to share.

One example is I was a remodeling contractor in my youth.  I bid on a rehab that included other trades.  The customer wanted detailed bids as to my subs, my youth and inexperience allowed me to proudly share who they were and their experience.  Next thing I knew, the customer hired them all independently using my bid numbers and cut me out of the deal.

Another example was I was looking at a property I really liked, decided to offer.  My wife and I at the time were just starting out and were looking for funding options.  One of the people we were sent to for funding instead bought the property themselves, saying we didn't qualify for a loan anyway.

Both of these experiences has made me a little paranoid about sharing specific info too soon, and in fact I was a little nervous about Bigger Pockets membership having my location posted in my profile.  For example if I were sharing about a specific property in my area for feedback, it wouldn't be too hard for someone to figure out the property and swoop my deal.

One crowd funding source has as the first question the address of the deal.  I know that is required info, but how safe do I feel with these new type lenders with my deal?  I mean it could be that they hear about a deal through the application process and cherry pick for a partner investor.

How do I lock up a deal, to protect it from being swooped before I can arrange funding?