I like biggerpockets but it makes me feel dirty sometimes

[Brett S.]

I know this is going to sound really negative and I'll get flamed but couldn't hold back; to be clear:  I'm just expressing my point of view.

I've been an buy and hold investor for a while and this is certainly the best blog/forum dedicated to the topic that I participate on.  Love the articles on rehabbing, cost cutting, out of state buying, best places to invest, and other such things.

But while I find good tips and war stories I enjoy,  the areas of RE that I try to limit in my personal work  (wholesaling and distressed flips in particular) seem to make the headlines, and it's disappointing.  For every headline that is "I worked hard to rehab my apartment and charge more rent, increasing value to my tenants and to myself" there are 2 that say "I made $25k in 3 weeks" the sub-header should say something like "by tricking a mentally challenged grandma on public assistance into selling her perfect house at 50% off market value even though it just needed paint", or "by giving a crackhead mobile home owner 25% of existing equity so they could feed their next fix, leaving them homeless".  

10% or even 20% off market, net of repairs is one thing, but beyond that I feel I'm taking advantage of a personal situation vs reaching a good deal.  The basic flip formula of 70% NRV borders on predatory imo.

Even things like seller financing / land contracts / etc... strike me as a bit shady.  Anyone with good credit and a solid financial situation can get a loan, and any seller would generally better off accepting cash that they can choose what to do with than accepting payments from an unknown, unproven individual (who probably has bad credit / high risk if banks are turning him down for a loan).  If they want to get payments, fine, but they can get the same return with lower risk elsewhere (at least in my experince).

Aspects of this profession just makes me feel slimy, even though I don't directly participate in it.  Like if I lived in Vegas and walked past 10 brothels on my way to work every day.   Hustling is ok for hustlers, but I see the profession as so much more than that.

Maybe I'm the only one.

For context, I also feel bad negotiating down a Southeast Asian street vendor for $0.50 when I know I make as much money in a day as they do in half a year.  "Take my $0.50 - you need it more than me."