All Forum Posts by: Noah Bacon

Hi Ken! Welcome to BiggerPockets and thanks for joining!

Here are some tips for networking and making the most of your account.

1) I'd fill out your profile fully before you do anything else! As that will at least help folks that you reach out to know that you are a real person, with a picture and professional bio. Particularly be sure to include your goals for real estate investing so that folks can help you.

2) Follow your favorite forum topics and set up keyword alerts! Adding keywords related to your investment strategy or market locations can be updated in your settings. You’ll receive notifications when there is conversation in the forums you follow or if a user mentions those keywords—so keep them updated often!

3) Check out some of the local meetups that you can find in this forum! There are so many so be sure to filter by your location.

4) Review Dave Meyer’s The State of Real Estate Investing Report 2024 (in your resource page as a member of BiggerPockets!) for real estate investors available to all BiggerPockets members!

5) Consider meeting with a few agents in your area even if you are just getting started! An investor friendly agent can do all sorts of helpful things, like setting you up with a search for properties or connecting you with folks who have recently done deals like the ones you want to do.

6) Consider analyzing a deal or two in your local market, just for practice, with a free use of our Rental Property Calculator (or other calculators).

Hope this helps! Please reach out with any questions you may have!

Gooooooo @Mindy Jensen!!!

I told you we would be celebrating your milestones, quite an achievement! 😉🎉

Hi Gopinath,

I recommend using Agent Finder to match with a local, investor-friendly real estate agent who can help you find, analyze, and close your next deal. It's fast, free, and easy to use:

• Enter your market and investment criteria
• Instantly match with investor-friendly agents
• Select the agents you want to contact

Quote from @Paul Novak:

Quote from @Noah Bacon:

Dear BiggerPockets Community,

We're thrilled to announce that registration for BPCON 2024 is officially open! 🎉🏡 Join us for an unforgettable experience as we gather virtually to learn, connect, and grow together.

🌟 Exciting News: Early Bird Window Extended! 🌟

📅 Save the Date: BPCON will take place from October 6th - 8th in Cancun, Mexico!

🎟️ Registration Details: Secure your spot early and take advantage of our early bird pricing. 

💸Pricing Guide:  This year, it's more than just learning—it's an all-inclusive, immersive getaway. Relax by the beach, soak up the sun, and dive deep into real estate knowledge, all in one extraordinary event. Secure your spot now with one of our exclusive event packages, as individual passes won't be available. Here's a pricing guide at the bottom that you can download!

🌟 Why Attend BPCON? 🌟

• Make Valuable Connections: With fun-filled activities and networking opportunities, BPCON is designed to make it easy for you to connect with and lean on like-minded investors who share your goals and aspirations so you never feel alone on your investing journey.
• Boost Your Potential: Buzzing with energy, inspiring speeches, and the best teachers, you’re guaranteed to leave full of momentum and confidence to get started and go farther on your financial freedom journey.
• Close More: The most approachable environment where you can meet your mentor, partner, or teammates and grow your portfolio to unimaginable new heights.
• 🙌 Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to learn, grow, and connect with the BiggerPockets community. Register now and secure your spot at BPCON 2024!
  

🔗 Register Here

🏝️See you at BPCON! 

 Quick question about pricing.  My wife and I just purchased our airfare so we 100% plan to attend.  I am a BP member but not a pro member currently.  What is the difference in price for the trip as a guest vs. a pro member?  Trying to see if it would make sense to just become a pro member depending on the discount of the event.

 Hi Paul,

I'm very excited to meet you and your wife this year at BPCON!

Attached is the pricing guide breaking out the GA - Standard and Pro Member - Standard rates. It depends on which room you are looking at reserving, but this guide should have everything you're looking for!

Please let me know if there is a specific room you are inquiring about, or if you have any other questions I can assist with!

Guru Programs are notoriously difficult to assess in terms of quality or outcome for their students. Some students rave about their guru, some come and complain about how they got ripped off.

There are a few patterns that raise yellow and/or red flags that we want to call out that are concerning, and we think community members should be skeptical about when deciding whether to spend thousands of dollars (sometimes tens of thousands of dollars) on guru training.

6 Signs Your Real Estate ‘Guru’ Might Be a Rip-Off:

1. They have a celebrity connection that they never stop talking about

In most cases, the celebrity does not make a personal appearance at the events, and their involvement is often very minimal. More important than a celebrity endorsement is a referral by “students” who’ve been through the course and can vouch for its usefulness.

2. They promise you’ll ‘get rich quick’

Real estate investing and wealth building is a very long-term game that comes with a lot of risk and often requires a significant financial investment. Those who are most successful are experienced pros who put in the long hours. 

You should avoid anyone with a whiff of "get rich quick" in their sales pitch, as well as "no money down" buying strategies. VA loans of course being an exception!

3. There’s no guarantee you'll get your money back

The most reputable programs will offer some form of money-back guarantee. Once you see that a company offers such a guarantee, check the Better Business Bureau to see consumers reviews that the company hasn’t followed through on that promise.

Expectations should vary based on the duration of the programs as well. If you are 14 weeks into a 15 week program, I would not be expecting you to want a refund on your payment. But, a 2 week program? I would definitely expect some form of a money back guarantee.

4. They are so focused on upselling you

You know the routine — you’re invited to a free seminar to learn about a new method of real estate investing, and the presenter or guru teases you with tidbits but offers nothing substantial. To learn his methods, you have to open your wallet.

This can go one of two ways. You might be asked to pay an extraordinary sum, maybe $5,000, for the program materials or to attend additional seminars and boot camps.

Or, you might be tempted by a program that doesn’t cost much only to find out later it is bait to get you to purchase even more expensive products. Either way, you’re suckered into spending a lot of money for nothing.

5. There is No Risk or downside to real estate!

All investments come with an element of risk.

So when you’re told of “guaranteed methods” run in the other direction. And fast.

You are flat out being misled if you do not think there is any risk associated with investing in real estate.

Like any investment, real estate can go up or down. You can earn a big payday when you research and make a sound investment, but you can just as easily lose big if you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s not to mention the factors that are unexpected or completely unknown that can ruin a deal.

6. Overwhelmingly Positive Testimonials and Reviews from Students

The "reviews" for a guru come exclusively or overwhelmingly from individuals who create accounts on BiggerPockets with seemingly no other purpose than to dispense undying love and/or personal loyalty to the guru, with lengthy commentary about the complete life turnaround that spending $5K - $100K had in a very brief period of time, rather than a rational assessment of the pros and cons of the program and their outcomes achieved so far.

Hi David!

I would highly encourage you consider House Hacking. I used this strategy when starting out, and know thousands of investors who started the same way. Check out the link above, but the main principle of house hacking is as follows:

House hacking refers to ways to generate income from your home. It’s the single most powerful way to increase wealth, and anyone can do it! Buying a four-bedroom home and renting out the three rooms while living in the fourth is considered house hacking. Buying a duplex and living in one unit while renting out the other is also considered house hacking.

I hope this helps, and let me know what questions you might have!

Congrats, Tyson!😁🎉

Let me know if you have any questions about the benefits of your Pro account and I'd be happy to help!

Feeling intimidated by the real estate market these days? We get it—there's a lot to wrap your head around as an investor. You might have cash flow down, but what about the other more complex metrics?Never fear, Dave Meyer is here to demystify one of the most important (and surprisingly easy) steps of your investing journey: deal analysis.Live Workshop: Demystifying Deal Analysis with Dave Meyer

Date: May 29, 2024

Time: 11am PT | 2pm ET

In this live workshop, you'll walk away understanding:

• How cash flow, appreciation, amortization, and tax benefits all shape the quality of a good deal
• Ways you can maximize your investment returns BEFORE buying a deal
• The key questions you should ask before every investment
• Why MOST properties out there aren't deals—and how to poise yourself to move immediately on those that are

Register now to secure your spot!

We typically run them 3 times a year. Expect announcements and communication coming your way in the beginning of Q3!