A Networking Site Where People Are Afraid to Network?

Question

I'm new to Bigger Pockets and so far absolutely love the site, it's so well laid out and everything has been thought of.  The wealth of knowledge from experienced investors that care to take time out of their busy schedules to give back is tremendous!  The podcasts are excellent, the tools are amazing, ebooks, investment calculators, the ability to network with other local investors doing what you do in your own local area, and even the ability to find a mentor easily.  We have had some great meet ups that have had 20-30 people come to have free training and network.  Already we are doing deals with friends we have made here!  For new investors this site is a goldmine!

Don't Die of Famine When There is  A Buffet In Front of You:

As a Pro Member, I found enough value that I thought it well worth buying the premium membership, having the ability to read people's profile and find out what they are looking for and exactly how you can help is a great thing for everyone.  Providing great advice through replies to posts and showcasing your knowledge through blogging builds credibility.  However, it's amazing to me when people will reply to your posts, thank you for great insights, inbox you questions, view your profile and then not accept a connection request?  I notice so many people who are actively on the site, there are 470,000 or more people who have accounts, and yet the number of people who have 3, 5 or only 9 connections is amazing to me.  It's like realizing there are stocked fish in the barrell and being hungry and saying, "Nah, I don't want to take a shot, I'll just stay hungry!"

You Miss 100% of the Shots You Don't Take

It's not as if this is a dating site, lol!  This isn't Facebook where you are sharing pictures of your kids and you might not want the general public to know everything in your personal life.  The rules for engagement have been clearly stated, and anyone who spams  you loses their messaging privileges. If people are trying to unabashedly market to you, and are abusing the site, certainly having a way to stop it is great!  However, if you are here for free because you are just getting started and can't afford the premium account yet, or if you are a Pro Member, why in the world would you not want to take every opportunity to connect and provide value to other people.  There are people here that can not only provide great advice to your every question, but  you can get multiple and differing opinions as well.  People say they are looking for mentorship, wholesale deals, flips, to network, to find meetups, etc, so when someone sends you a detailed connection request offering to help with what you stated in your profile, why would you stay at 3 connections and say, "Nah, but I'll gladly pepper your inbox with questions to make sure you are legit, and have you privately help me when I could be following your blogs and having you answer these questions for everyone?"

Here Is the Thing:

Having had mentors and people who helped me for free when I got started, I'm glad to help give back.  I'm amazed to get dozens of views in a day from people with no connections, no experience who look kick tires but don't make an effort to connect.  More amazing is when people pat you on the back and then don't ask for a connection or respond to yours?

What are you scared of? Why are you not connecting?

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

@Jared Garfield  ah I see your starting in the turn key business out in CA.. I have been corresponding with Ms. Nash.

for me. I am a pro simply to support the site as I have nothing to sell... and I certainly am not a buyer as I find most of those selling here are wholesalers .. so its not a great place for me a professional buyer to look for deals.  AS we try to only buy from the farmer.

I accept 97% colleague requests however I have never sent one to any one.

some of the requests are not accompanied by anything intro and I think folks should do a little intro I may in the future decline any that don't have some type of intro.

Not even sure what being a colleague does for someone on BP.

when we sign up we have one follower and that's the only one of those I have and I am not sure who that is or what that does either. but I have about 650 following me.. not sure why.

out of the 475k accounts I would surmise that 50,000 or so are active at anyone time in any appreciable way ... many come post 3 to 5 times then never come back.

there is only so much room in the business before saturation.. and frankly many just are not cut out for it.. and they morph into buying a rental house which anyone can do without any real expertise as long as they have a decent broker helping them.

Troy Fisher · Answer

Lane Kawaoka, Nice Shoes, wanna buy a house?

I've found that by posting a lot, and being open and frank without using buzzwords and overtly professional people get to know my personality and my thought process, and while I have close to 500+ connections I rarely if ever "connect with them", so connecting is mostly useful for me to @Mention people when they aren't involved in a thread if I feel like they could add something to the conversation.

What I've found is that by being a Pro Member, listing my email and phone number on BP, I get random calls out of the blue about people who want to explore doing something with me.  Colleagues and People You Follow will influence what you see happening on your feed on the home tab but have no direct impact on the networking that you can accomplish by posting frequently and often on Bigger Pockets.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

@Jared Garfield  not to get to far off track as this is your thread.

I often wonder why folks that sell rental houses to investors need to divulge in that great detail as you suggest to their buyers.

My point being.. I am a new home builder and I do quite a bit of rehab work all over the country probably close to 100 rehabs a year..

and then I do about 200 plus for turn key companies IE I am the money

in our retail sales we never get asked for scope of work etc etc. .they get a home inspection then beat us up LOL... they never really worry about profit. same with new construction they either like the home want to live in it.. get a home inspection and they are done with the how much did you make question.  and ON some of my new construction we have been fortunate enough to make low six figure net profits on sub 600k houses .. not always but it does happen .. normally 15% of gross is what we make or we target.

but why should a rehabber that specializes in selling to investors have to come up with all this stuff..

should not a home inspector catch this all in their report.. and then they make a decision.. Unless of course the buyer does not do a home inspection. etc..

For me I don't need anyone to tell me what a deal is that's MY job LOL.

AS for wholesalers we buy form a few but not many there are just too many legions of newbies that really just waste your time reading from a script and have no clue as to what they are doing or what a deal is...

I just closed one on Friday in Charleston.. it went like this.

wholelsaler knows me from BP contacts me with a very good deal on its face I Charleston.. says I cn buy it for 190k.. I have my team look at it same day come back say sure buy it tomorrow just open escrow and we will wire funds.

I then do some due diligence and this wholesaler had recorded some funky POA allowing htem to buy it for 100k.. I call them back and say don't you think a whole sale slip profit for 90k Is excessive.. he stumble bumbles and can't really answer..

Well turns out the lady who did this long story short owed 200k against it so they had no clue what they were doing.. they then with this POA list it for 300k and of course it does not sell.

then they call day before closing and say seller is getting no money can I pay tax's I said I will split it.. they made 6K.. realtor for some reason got 2k and off we go..

so I like to deal with realtors when I can and buy direct either court house ( like I have in your area Henry county) we do really well in certain markets on auction .com because of the high EM deposits required.

Mellissa is selling you as a prominent  turn key company with 3 or 4 markets including Birmingham were I am VERY active. that's why I mentioned it and she is going ot put you on our turn key review site. which is  a fantastic lead gen site if I do say so myself :)  Melissa was advertising for a So CAL meetup and one in the Napa Valley .. I lived at Silverado in Napa for more than a decade so that piqued my interest in her post.

Jared Garfield · Answer

@Jay Hinrichs you certainly post a lot here and are an active contributed for sure, that's awesome!  I know on most sites, if you follow someone it alerts you when they post? So if you like what they are sharing you can get easier access to their posts.

We buy a lot of properties for sure, but are not a turn key business primarily, we have a fund and buy and hold.  I'm glad you are following Melissa she is a great resource.

When someone is a colleague, from what I can tell, it gives you a much easier chance to email each other back and forth helpful resources.

Buying from a farmer is great so long as someone really knows how to evaluate deals, and markets, how to project after repair values, accurately assess repair costs and proper scopes, and provided the farmer isn't marking up to much.

I actually got my real estate license and brokers license because I felt that 95% of real estate agent know a lot about selling retail homes but almost nothing about real estate investment.  If you can find the 1% agents that really know what they are doing then you have a goldmine.  Otherwise, agents, wholesale and turn key providers can come from all areas of the spectrum. Good, bad and ugly.

To me the key with wholesale farmers is about how accurate their comps, rehab needed projections, and ARV and rent amounts are.  How much are they making?  Did they do nothing but tie up the property, and if so what are they trying to make for the contract?

For turn key providers someone should ask to see the closing statement, the total rehab scope with before and after pictures and know exactly what the profit is.  Anyone willing to share all of that is usually pretty legit.  If someone can sell you a property turn key for about the price you would be all in, why not take a look?  If someone has much cheaper rehab costs, materials cost and they are a better negotiator, they may provide the property finished at a better cost than what a rookie could get going through an inexperienced agent.  There are a lot of profit monger a in both the wholesale and turn key spaces, and one must be careful to be sure.

I also 1000% agree with your point on making an introduction when doing a colleague request.  People should know what you can do that relates to their goals and how you are willing to help.

Great points Jay and thanks for the post!

Linda Labbe · Answer

just become very active in the Atlanta area with a new team on the ground there  looking for connections for them would love to chat

Jared Garfield · Answer

Thank you Latasha, and thanks for the connection!  I should have mentioned in the post that it's a great idea to follow people as well.  If you can find a thought leader, follow them so it will alert you when they share wisdom.  What are your goals, and how can I help?  If you have one question what would it be?

Latasha Brown · Answer

Thank you for your words of wisdom! Something so simple but important in the growth process of your business. I am new to real estate investing and grateful for people like yourself who are open to sharing your knowledge.

A Networking Site Where People Are Afraid to Network?

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