HOW TO USE BIGGER POCKETS Every bit YOUR GREATEST RESOURCES

Logan D. Freeman

Logan D. Freeman

Commercial Real Manor | Private Equity | Mr. Kansas City | 1031 Exchanges | Professional Opportunist |

Published Feb xi, 2020

I kickoff heard of Bigger Pockets through a friend'south financial podcast. This was before real estate was ever on my radar of beingness a feasible investment vehicle. My friend repeatedly promoted real estate investing as having the highest potential for asset growth, passive income, and ultimate fiscal freedom. And BP was ofttimes lauded as the best platform to help aspiring investors go started.

And so I looked upwards the BP podcast, listened to an episode while driving in my truck, and was quickly hooked. I enjoyed the hosts' (Brandon and David) dynamic, how they'd make fun of each other and themselves, all while exuding passion and knowledge nigh existent estate investing. I appreciated the variety of topics they discussed, including mindset (knowing your Why), strategies, choosing your investment team, etc. But the most inspiring attribute almost the show for me was the everyday guests they'd interview who were crushing information technology in their investing careers. Hearing stories of normal people overcoming their fears and obstacles, and persevering to achieve great success gave me hope and excitement that I could do the same, and who knew - maybe even be a BP guest myself some solar day.

I didn't conceptualize the tin of worms I was opening when I started listening to the podcast. Soon I was exploring the BP website, and had signed up for a membership. There I discovered an treasure trove of didactics and resources to give an aspiring investor like myself the knowledge and tools I needed to go a program in place and outset my investing journey. But I was quickly overwhelmed on where to start and how best to utilize the site. It took time for me to navigate out of the weeds and start digesting this newfound cognition in an organized and productive manner. That's what I want to provide in this article: a guide to using the BP website and its resources to your greatest benefit. I will intermission downwardly most of the resources and provide my ain tips on how to best take advantage of them.

  1. The Bigger Pockets Podcast - This is how I initially got sucked into the real manor investing world. As I drive a lot for my job, I'thousand ever looking for a solid podcast to listen to. BP has a fantastic library of episodes dating back to 2013. Y'all will be inspired and motivated by everyday people who shook off their assay paralysis and are forging a life of success and freedom through existent estate investing. Episodes typically range from one-ane.5 hours, with almost 80% meat and some barrack sprinkled throughout to keep information technology lite. Listen to ane episode every day and yous volition develop sound foundational knowledge in no time.
  • Quick tip: Through the show sponsor ads, yous'll larn of many unlike companies that help real estate investors with the various aspects of their business organization (property direction, contracting, lending, marketing, lead generating, etc.). So don't skip them, but rather compile a listing of these companies as references when you're starting your own concern.
  1. Education
  • Guides:
  • The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate: this was the offset place I started once I began exploring the website. This gave me a solid starting point in my investing noesis, as I earned virtually different types of rental backdrop, investing strategies, developing a real estate team, finding and analyzing properties, and more. This guide isn't extensive, nor is information technology a full-proof blueprint on how to accept a successful, fault-free investing career. But it does provide a broad-stroke explanation on how you lot tin can get started.
  • Quick tip: this guide features links to relative articles, then you tin really do a deep dive in educating yourself on this topic
  • The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Home Loans: explains what a mortgage is; distinguishes betwixt types of abode loans; and defines fundamental terms of the financing process (down payment, credit score, PMI, closing costs, etc.)
  • The Ultimate Step by Step Guide to Becoming a Millionaire: explores the ONLY iii ways anyone becomes a millionaire - who wouldn't want to know this?
  • The Ultimate Guide to Tenant Screening: They say a rental property is only as expert as the tenants you lot fill it with. This guide walks you lot through the precise steps to take to find the best tenants for your properties.
  • The Ultimate Pace by Stride Guide to Buying a Duplex: volition teach you how to discover corking small multifamily (SMF) properties and manage them into cash menstruation machines.
  • The Ultimate Guide to Flipping Houses: learn how to observe great deals, run the numbers, and avert common pitfalls for wannabe flippers.
  • Weekly webinars (and library):
  • Webinars are a great tool because they're educational and entertaining. Brandon typically moderates them, merely yous can also watch webinars hosted by David Greene and other BP leaders.
  • If you sign upward for a live webinar, you'll exist learning along with other investors from all over the land. At the terminate of most webinars Brandon will walk yous through analyzing a bargain, which is very helpful to see.
  • 1 keen perk of being a BP member is admission to their entire library of webinars.
  • Quick tip: Scout at least 1 webinar each week, and complete the respective fillable worksheet
  • Gratuitous course(s):
  • The Financial independence blueprint is a iv role video form hosted by Brandon, where he provides y'all with a real manor road map and simple strategies to achieve your investing goals.
  • Glossary: use every bit a reference throughout your ongoing education and property-buying procedure
  • Member blog
  • You tin larn from the writings of other experienced investors
  • When you feel like you've gained some good knowledge, you tin can write contribute with your own blog posts
  1. Network
  • In a nutshell, the BP network enables you to explore a listing of partner companies that will assist you lot in various aspects of your investing endeavors, including: structure & edifice, hard coin, real estate agents, wholesaling, etc.
  • Quick tip: Use the company directory to detect vendors in your expanse. You can also create a profile for your own investing visitor to drive leads to your business.
  1. Forums: this infinite is crucial to your REI instruction because it allows you to ask and respond whatsoever and all questions about real manor investing. Many of the users on the forums accept years of feel with real manor deals and are more than than willing to network provide useful answers and advice. It's important to note that advertisements, solicitations, and cocky promotional posts are just allowed in the Marketplace Forum.
  • You tin follow trending topics, or simply browse unlike forum groups like investor basics, landlord & tenant, foreclosures, etc. New investors are encouraged to post their questions in order to learn from more seasoned investors.
  • Quick tip: set up keyword alerts by clicking the bell icon in the summit right toolbar. Say y'all're interested in 1031 exchange deals in Des Moines, Iowa; y'all tin set keyword alerts for both so that you're notified every time one or both of these are mentioned past other users.
  • The Marketplace provides real estate listings, including off marketplace properties. Y'all can also promote or advertise your real manor business, deals and opportunities, etc. Find buyers for your residential or commercial backdrop. You can also solicit partners, financing, deals, leads or referrals.
  • Lastly, use the forums to look upwardly local REI meetups to nourish in your area. Attention meetups is the best style to abound your network quickly and develop your REI team.
  1. Tools
  • Familiarize yourself with the calculators to learn how to analyze deals
  • At that place are calculators to help y'all analyze potential rental backdrop, wholesale deals, mortgage payments, rehab, BRRRR, Air B&B, ready and flip, etc. For each figurer there is a curt tutorial video to testify yous how to utilise information technology. But yous can also find more than detailed videos on using the calculators by watching some of the specific webinars
  • Apply the landlord resources to manage your backdrop and tenants in the most efficient way possible.
  1. Bookstore: while there are numerous books for sale on the site, I'm only going to highlight the 2 I've read so far:
  • The Book on Rental Holding Investing, by Brandon Turner. With more than 270,000 copies sold, this book will teach you lot how to build an achievable plan, notice incredible deals, finance and manage your properties, and much more!
  • Purchase, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat (BRRRR), by David Greene. This investment strategy has supercharged countless existent estate investors' incomes. This book details the verbal steps needed to implement it in your own REI career.
  • Quick tip: Under the bookstore tab y'all can also browse your member perks (if you have a paid subscription). They too have lease understanding packages for each state, which will be of great do good when you lot find your outset tenants to move into your rental property

So there you take it! A great map to navigate the BP website and take advantage of all its tools. Whether yous are just starting out, or have been investing for years, utilizing this one-of-a-kind platform and its invaluable tools and materials volition more than equip yous for success. At present it's upwardly to you to dig in, soak it all up, and apply it - proficient luck!