It's always best to hire a third-party contractor to clean the place in any state. Reason being, if you are challenged, you have an invoice and payment to prove this work was done from a third party. You do it yourself, then it may not fly if challenged. I know in New Jersey, you cannot bill if you clean it yourself outside of the actual chemicals used (I.E. free labor).
The easiest way to get around any of this is to hire a competent property management firm to handle everything. The court looks on them as a neutral third party and they'd accept their invoicing and receipts without an issue.
Major cities have a leadership issue; there is none. So, NYC, Newark, Jersey City, Philadelphia, New Haven, Hartford, etc. are all having issues with crime and affordability. The problem is, many of these cities started out by expanding services to make it easier to afford to live there. However, when you have cashless bail, police afraid to enforce or not able enforce law and order, and people being incentivized not to work; what do they think will happen?
Philly always had the ability to become a great city; but the people who are elected just hurt the hand that feeds it. Crime is on the rise, property protections for landlords is nearly non-existent, and development is leaving the area for more favorable regulations. What does the city expect will happen when you tie the hands of the police department and make the regulations so dire for investment; why would any major developer go and invest in the city?
The city has and will always have potential, but they need to hire/elect outside people to run the city like a business. If not, it's just going to turn into a mini-Chicago.
Every subsidy to housing increases housing prices. Politicians just don't seem to be able to come to grips with that obvious fact.
That being said, this policy could definitely help house hackers going forward.
It will be nice to see the value of our portfolios skyrocket after that. Too bad she'll also strip us of our ability to count depreciation against income and uhh, I don't bankrupt the country even faster than it's already being bankrupted
It's going to make the real estate market even harder for first time home buyers to jump into. I truly believe the powers that be are trying to make the US into a renters nation. Some here may say, hey, I'm a landlord, that's great! Until they start to use these new laws and mandates against you.
Remember, just a few short years ago, the lockdown and the ability for people to not pay their rent nation wide was crippling small landlords. The medium and large corporations were fine. The small landlords got hurt badly. The government is not your friend. They are friends with the money, and that is all.
All these new regulations are going to hurt the working / middle class, and turn us closer into a state run country. The budget is out of control, and the brain trust at the Fed is going to unleash inflation even worse than before. We have morons running the government, and we're all going to get screwed eventually...
Pro's:
It's great to have BP as a trustworthy partner to give clients a level of trust that they will be taken care of. BP cosigns our ability to operate and vets us both on the phone and online prior to featuring us. If we do a bad job, then it looks like BP also does a bad job. Neither party wants that.
I've helped out a handful of people that found me on the platform and heard a variety of unique and exciting stories from real investors that need some help with their situation. Whether it's a refinance on a balloon payment coming due or as simple as an active duty military person wanting to house hack their first home. Really rewarding when I can help them meet their goals.
The cost of the service is pricey, however it can pay itself off if you are helping folks consistently.
Most of the clients that come in are not qualified or don't actually want financing, however there are some folks that are indeed serious.
Con's:
Incorrect phone numbers and email addresses
Delusional keyboard warriors threatening to start being an investor. These folks are imagineers that have a real estate empire in their own heads.
Many folks that fill out the "Find a Lender" form just want to talk to someone for educational purposes and are not interested in actually purchasing a property. Instead of reading one of the many books and podcasts BP publishes on the foundational elements associated with REI, they would prefer that I take 1-2 hours out of my day on the phone to explain everything. I'm a complete stranger. Although I'm happy to talk about REI (it changed my own life), the purpose of the platform is to facilitate financing, not to be a full time educator. This happens so frequently that changed my lender page description's first line to read, "SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY."
Dopamine hits. In the age of same day delivery and on-demand streaming, filling out a form gives newer folks a hit of dopamine and makes them feel like they are doing something positive in their lives. How do I know this? Well, I've done it myself and so have you, if you're being honest. "Learn to code and create a coding portfolio to get a $100k job in just 18 weeks!" Regrettably, I've filled out that form many years ago and ultimately decided that's not what I want to do with my life just 30 seconds after filling it out. When folks fill out the find a lender form that have not put in the simple research into what it takes to buy a house or investment property, the euphoria quickly fades and they go back to work and forget they ever filled it out.
New client inquiries from the "Find a Lender" platform keep coming in the middle of the night when I'm sleeping and cannot reach out immediately. I've set up a Zapier zap to text my phone whenever I get a new client message because folks are very impulsive (see above about wanting education and dopamine hits). The impulse and question they have quickly subsides once they get off of the BP platform and they go back to their late night cocktail, TV show, or go to bed and forget they even filled out the form. Again, many folks are just looking to talk to someone about HOW TO START investing in real estate instead of having a basic foundation of what is feasible - and they want the money right now. Often times, folks have little to zero income, little to zero capital, and want me to sell them the dream of purchasing real estate with no money and no job. I'll leave the dream selling to David Greene and Tom Cruz.
Fake leads. I've sent support a number of bots or fake leads with false information.
Our job as lenders is to provide education for clients for THEIR SPECIFIC scenario, not to educate the population as a guru on why they should get into real estate investing. Folks will need to decide on their own if REI is right for them and have a basic understanding of how it works - it is very personal to them. I am not a guru or a podcast host, just a resource to help you carry out your plan
So basically high priced garbage. I'm not surprised. BP has become a marketplace for everything real estate. If it wasn't for the forums, this place would have died a long time ago.
Thank you for your honest review.
My experience with Featured Agent has been hit and miss, seem similar to the find a lender program. The lead quality had taken a turn for the worse in the last few months. I started with BP in 2005, upgaded to pro 2007, Featured Agent 2 years ago. BP used to be the "anti Carleton Sheets" platform, but the good ol days are gone! The forums are still good, but the rest of the content is basically a bunch of advertisement. I guess as a featured agent, I'm part of the problem! Ha!
They need the funds for the BS expos and getaways. BP was amazing when it first started. When it slowly started to become heavily commercialized and ads ads ads, it's gone down hill. If BP didn't have the forums, it would just beyond pointless to visit. I understand one needs to make $$$, but these skeptical at best "gurus" hacking their crap and their events, promotions, etc. In the end it's just damaging the brand. Once you lose the community, there's really no way in turning things around. Hopefully, it doesn't go that route.
Can you please let me know what getaway or expo BP has promoted, other than our annual conference in 2024? I will address it promptly.
And, can you please point to an instance of a guru hacking crap or events on BiggerPockets content in 2024? We take this seriously and this should not be happening on the platform, again, outside of us promoting BPCON, which we hope is a wonderful event for our members.
You also have those all inclusive conferences in the tropics I believe. I see ads all over the forums about these guru's BP is interviewing, and how they have to buy these books and seminars. A few weeks back, a young woman was asking about how to start out in real estate. One of your minions popped right in and quickly promoted, well, you need get this book to start off and pointed her to the BP store.
Listen, I know you have to make money as no business can be sustained without income. However, I will say, BP seems to be moving away from it's founding principles. Run your company the way you like, but when a company moves away from their founding principles and starts to alienate their core; they usually have some rough waters ahead.
Thanks, Calvin - I appreciate your advice. It’s hard to hear this perception shift, as to me it seems like we are just building on our foundations. We’ve had books, conferences, our paid membership, and networking between businesses and investors the duration of my tenure. But, clearly something in your view and certainly some other folks as well has changed. Perhaps it’s how we are doing things? Scale?
What would you recommend for 2025 to me? We plan to have our conference in Las Vegas, at a less than $800 price point. We plan to sell no courses, and have “Bootcamps” be included in the pro membership, at current price. We plan to build on our “Deal Finder”, introduce a mobile app, and build out solutions to help investors meet contractors, lawyers, wholesalers (avoiding wannabes who just bought some guru course), and maybe foray into commercial - allowing investors to connect with Commercial Brokers.
If you were me, what would you change?
And, please do let me know if you can recall where an expensive course was promoted, directly or indirectly, especially anything in the last year. I will get that out of our content.
Apologies for the delayed response. I was away for a couple of weeks. No problem with you scaling and growing; that's a great thing! However, I would caution you on quality over quantity. If your lead gen is lackluster, which it seems it may be according to the other posters, that might be something you would want your team to look in to.
I am not sure on these conferences, as they are just, in my opinion, companies selling their services, and not much else. Is there value, I am sure somewhere, but I am not one to know if it's worth $800.00. I am in Manhattan, so there are conferences galore here. Trust when I say they are mostly shills and sales presentations.
I would consider asking someone from the outside if you would attend this conference. What do you want to obtain or learn from this conference? Most importantly, is this worth not only $800.00, but is it worth my time to travel to this conference?
They may be some networking opportunities, but what can I, the end user, actually learn from going to the conference rather than watching it on Youtube, going to the BP forums or going to a local real estate meet-up?
I will have to look and see in my emails on the promos. I do recall seeing it pumped about some guru who purchased 20,000,000 or so in real estate and he can help you too as an ad on the site. I never heard of the guy and googleing him brings up a very similar MLM page.
I am not knocking you. You have to do what you must to grow your BP; I applaud you for that. I just hope it's not going to detract from why you originally founded the site. With all the ads and promos, it's like night and day.
Personally, this is going to back fire in two ways. One, the mom and pop investor will waive their white flag and sell to a larger outfit. Two, the rents will continue to rise to factor in the additional risk of removing a tenant. This is a pain in NJ.
Every subsidy to housing increases housing prices. Politicians just don't seem to be able to come to grips with that obvious fact.
That being said, this policy could definitely help house hackers going forward.
I had a roof leak a few weeks back at my property. My roof contractor fixed a hole next to the skylight which fixed the leak issues. I took help from mold contractor who remediated mold at the property. My handyman fixed the sheetrock after remediation that was cut by the mold team. This old Tenant had some minor surgery that mold remediation day when these repairs were done. Tenant left the key in the lock box and the contractor, a handyman, took care of repairs. I asked my roof contractor to remove the skylight and replace it with a normal roof as well (which he did a few days back).
My tenant is saying to the PM that he is getting medical testing done now due to mold related health issues. The PM says this is potentially shaping up to be a lawsuit that my tenant is interested in. The PM says he needs to send his own licensed mold inspection company now. I am thinking it is better to leave all communication of this problematic tenant to the PM rather than me directly communicating and sending my own contractors to save some money. Is that is correct approach? What steps I can do to avoid any kind of potential lawsuit type of situations. I am still with the same old Robert title 1 management company which you recommended (which is acquired by Pure Management company). Please advise.
The PM is correct. He should hire a licensed mold inspection company. Additionally, you should probably instruct the PM to dry out the attic if you have with fans and / or a dehumidifier. As long as you've made a good-faith effort, you should be okay. However, in the future, you need to get on this stuff quickly. Hopefully, the roofer which was hired is licensed and insured.
Pro's:
It's great to have BP as a trustworthy partner to give clients a level of trust that they will be taken care of. BP cosigns our ability to operate and vets us both on the phone and online prior to featuring us. If we do a bad job, then it looks like BP also does a bad job. Neither party wants that.
I've helped out a handful of people that found me on the platform and heard a variety of unique and exciting stories from real investors that need some help with their situation. Whether it's a refinance on a balloon payment coming due or as simple as an active duty military person wanting to house hack their first home. Really rewarding when I can help them meet their goals.
The cost of the service is pricey, however it can pay itself off if you are helping folks consistently.
Most of the clients that come in are not qualified or don't actually want financing, however there are some folks that are indeed serious.
Con's:
Incorrect phone numbers and email addresses
Delusional keyboard warriors threatening to start being an investor. These folks are imagineers that have a real estate empire in their own heads.
Many folks that fill out the "Find a Lender" form just want to talk to someone for educational purposes and are not interested in actually purchasing a property. Instead of reading one of the many books and podcasts BP publishes on the foundational elements associated with REI, they would prefer that I take 1-2 hours out of my day on the phone to explain everything. I'm a complete stranger. Although I'm happy to talk about REI (it changed my own life), the purpose of the platform is to facilitate financing, not to be a full time educator. This happens so frequently that changed my lender page description's first line to read, "SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY."
Dopamine hits. In the age of same day delivery and on-demand streaming, filling out a form gives newer folks a hit of dopamine and makes them feel like they are doing something positive in their lives. How do I know this? Well, I've done it myself and so have you, if you're being honest. "Learn to code and create a coding portfolio to get a $100k job in just 18 weeks!" Regrettably, I've filled out that form many years ago and ultimately decided that's not what I want to do with my life just 30 seconds after filling it out. When folks fill out the find a lender form that have not put in the simple research into what it takes to buy a house or investment property, the euphoria quickly fades and they go back to work and forget they ever filled it out.
New client inquiries from the "Find a Lender" platform keep coming in the middle of the night when I'm sleeping and cannot reach out immediately. I've set up a Zapier zap to text my phone whenever I get a new client message because folks are very impulsive (see above about wanting education and dopamine hits). The impulse and question they have quickly subsides once they get off of the BP platform and they go back to their late night cocktail, TV show, or go to bed and forget they even filled out the form. Again, many folks are just looking to talk to someone about HOW TO START investing in real estate instead of having a basic foundation of what is feasible - and they want the money right now. Often times, folks have little to zero income, little to zero capital, and want me to sell them the dream of purchasing real estate with no money and no job. I'll leave the dream selling to David Greene and Tom Cruz.
Fake leads. I've sent support a number of bots or fake leads with false information.
Our job as lenders is to provide education for clients for THEIR SPECIFIC scenario, not to educate the population as a guru on why they should get into real estate investing. Folks will need to decide on their own if REI is right for them and have a basic understanding of how it works - it is very personal to them. I am not a guru or a podcast host, just a resource to help you carry out your plan
So basically high priced garbage. I'm not surprised. BP has become a marketplace for everything real estate. If it wasn't for the forums, this place would have died a long time ago.
Thank you for your honest review.
My experience with Featured Agent has been hit and miss, seem similar to the find a lender program. The lead quality had taken a turn for the worse in the last few months. I started with BP in 2005, upgaded to pro 2007, Featured Agent 2 years ago. BP used to be the "anti Carleton Sheets" platform, but the good ol days are gone! The forums are still good, but the rest of the content is basically a bunch of advertisement. I guess as a featured agent, I'm part of the problem! Ha!
They need the funds for the BS expos and getaways. BP was amazing when it first started. When it slowly started to become heavily commercialized and ads ads ads, it's gone down hill. If BP didn't have the forums, it would just beyond pointless to visit. I understand one needs to make $$$, but these skeptical at best "gurus" hacking their crap and their events, promotions, etc. In the end it's just damaging the brand. Once you lose the community, there's really no way in turning things around. Hopefully, it doesn't go that route.
Can you please let me know what getaway or expo BP has promoted, other than our annual conference in 2024? I will address it promptly.
And, can you please point to an instance of a guru hacking crap or events on BiggerPockets content in 2024? We take this seriously and this should not be happening on the platform, again, outside of us promoting BPCON, which we hope is a wonderful event for our members.
You also have those all inclusive conferences in the tropics I believe. I see ads all over the forums about these guru's BP is interviewing, and how they have to buy these books and seminars. A few weeks back, a young woman was asking about how to start out in real estate. One of your minions popped right in and quickly promoted, well, you need get this book to start off and pointed her to the BP store.
Listen, I know you have to make money as no business can be sustained without income. However, I will say, BP seems to be moving away from it's founding principles. Run your company the way you like, but when a company moves away from their founding principles and starts to alienate their core; they usually have some rough waters ahead.