So I wonder if anyone recommends one over the other for novice investors to get their feet wet.

Just a couple of other suggestions to add (hopefully I'm not duplicating):- Mark sessions as Novice/Intermediate/Advanced- Clarify whether sessions are being video recorded for later posting on BP site (or via an attendee link), or if/when slides will be available.  

My main point was really aimed at more novice investors with a mentality of 'real estate always goes up in value'.  

Something for novices and more experienced.5) What would a BP conference look like to you?

If I'm a novice, which I am, should I try to take a course.

I've heart Curt Davis on this site talk about the trainer Alan Cowgill as having good material, though I have no personal experience with him.Sorry, didn't mean to post this yet, will finish thought later, but you don't want to lecture the type 2 investor on stock market returns, for example, or you risk sounding like a novice.

Hi:

I started investing in real estate in 2009. I bought my SFH properties mainly through short sales.

Since I did not educate myself very well, I got myself into a big trouble. I signed t...

Tenants who know how to play the game have fertile ground for doing exactly that, delaying for sometime until a novice landlord has learned enough and gotten enough documentation to finally press an end to the antics. 

I am still a novice investor, only working on my second deal, but there are plenty of homerun deals to be had. 

What guy is saying is absolutely right, most of the time it's a novice investor who doesn't understand how contracts work.