Where have all the writers (posters) gone ?
Have you noticed the dearth of missives on this site? I enjoyed the posts for their varied practical ,educational or entertaining value. It has been suggested to me that narrow- minded censorship prevents some people from contributing to this site. I don
Bernd I think most of the regulars are starting to hunker down a bit so to speak, trying to plan tomorrow has become a daily battle on large scale property owners and the roller coaster as Tony describes it has become and rough ride at times.
People have the illusion that property owners have butt loads of money just lying around and during tough times I’ve found they become targets from both public and government sources…
I’m still out there beating the bushes so to speak, I’ve taken my licks but yet I keep on ticking… I truly believe that massive amounts of wealth are changing hands NOW and I’m looking for both buyers and sellers trying to pair them up. I can’t physically handle more rental units right now myself and I don’t believe it’s the right time to hire on lots of help.
I’m actually considering selling a few of our properties right now… The question is WHY right? Most landlords are getting their butts kicked while our properties are full, There is still money out there most of it transitioning investment sources BUT most investors I talk to want turnkey type properties. I can’t (or won’t) do another turn around right now unless I offload some property but I see myself sitting in the middle of what I think is going to be one of the best buying periods in our lifetime.
I’d love to see the board come back to life as well but I’m hesitant to post as well as most of my thoughts are simply not well taken by the general public and many other investors at this time.
Best wishes,
Ryan Needler
Sometimes when the average joe asks for help from those on the forum - they get zilch for a response. Others seem to have the inside track and get all kinds of helpful insights and pointers. Perhaps the purpose of the forum is for the benefit of the few at the expense of the rest.
Dale,
You articulated what I have been coming to think for quite a while. I read this and other forums on a regular basis and the help I have received has kept me in business. Having said the above, I post here less and less because is just seems to me that this forum is becoming too much like an “old boys club.”
I’m not a part of the “club” and don’t want to be. I need info without the other BS that goes with it on this site and I’m more than happy to give back by sharing what has worked for me. If I cannot get what I want here, I will and do go elsewhere.
I have been a teacher here and abroad for many years. One of the truisms I have come to understand is that there is NEVER a situation where only one person has a question/concern but there may, hopefully, be at least one person who is willing to ask the question or raise a concern. What I want to say is don’t doubt for a momemt that there are others who feel as I do but won’t come out and say it.
I hope you’re listening, mods.
Rolf
Wheat Hill
forothers, but I am too busy trying to survive to post every day. I used to have full time handymen, managers, asst magrs. Today from 7 am to 8 pm we work our tails off to collect rents and keep places full.
Bernd, I have deleted one post in 21/2 years. I read CRE also and posting is also way down there. I think it is just part of recession dynamic,
Rolf, I would be amazed if you ever posted anything without your usual dose of “what a downer the whole world is”. Lighten up! You get invited to speak at a MOM and cancel last minute. Do you ever have cheerful thoughts? Times are tough so suddenly this is a forum of “good old boys?” How about the ladies? You get real tiresome Rolf…real. real tiresome.
There is a core group that keep forums like this alive, We don’t charge for this forum…Rolf take note. If it offends you remove the icon on your desktop and keep trucking. If you want to be part of this forum post and tell us a bit about yourself. We try to keep the forums open and cleam, the rest is up to individual forum members.
Part of the reason I no longer host MOM’s is the c*** I got sent concerning content…at A FREE MEETING!!! See the humor?? And the irony? We have complainers, but will ANY of them do one thing about it except complain? Will they start another forum? Organize meetings? No, complainers share a common thread…they don’t do ANYTHING about the concern…just babble on and on and if you don’t believe this watch the response…another common thread is they don’t like to be publicy identified as such and will try to justify the negative comments as somehow instruvtive…
I know I feel better lol,
Regards,
Greg
Great Post
I am glad I have time today to read and respond. Greg I feel your passion in the above words. Very energizing.
I am thinking of dates to to have a MOM in Burlington NC at my community. I have the hotel down to $69. per night and it includes hot breakfast. They also have a great meeting room. New projects are whats keeping me from setting a date in the fall
Dale, you wrote:
“Sometimes when the average joe asks for help from those on the forum - they get zilch for a response. Others seem to have the inside track and get all kinds of helpful insights and pointers. Perhaps the purpose of the forum is for the benefit of the few at the expense of the rest.”
First let me say that I don’t see only a certain few having posts responded to on any forum. I think most who respond do so by the topic. They scan the posts looking for a topic they are familiar with and offer help by responding.
I have always been one to strongly favor people posting about their actual experience and not what they may have heard or read, unless they identify that as such.
Most of my posts deal with land/home properties, small parks and rentals. I am familiar with the nuances of these topics as I do this work everyday in my own portfolio. When I offer an opinion on a topic other than what I have exprience in, I make an effort to let everyone know that this just my opinion and try and offer links etc. for folks to do more detailed archive and other searches on. In most cases, I just stick with what I know and I suspect and hope that others do the same. If you don’t know, don’t post has been my motto.
How you would believe that responses only benefit the person asking the question is beyond me. It makes no sense. This is a public forum that is viewed by any who have the interest. If you see a post that asks a question you have unanswered, you can read the responses and find your answers. The responses are not emailed in private.
The whole purpose of forums such as this is so that everyone can benefit from the questions and answers, otherwise we would be back to each person individually and privately emailing back and forth, benefiting only one party.
If posts go unanswered then I can only guess that the question did not find its mark. One thing I have learned over the last decade on mobile home forums is that this is a very giving community both in knowledge and time. The majority of the folks who post here also post at other sites. No one dodges questions. No one dodges people until an individual becomes an issue and from time to time all sites get some nut that shows up, helps no one and tries to garner attention by distracting from the topics and starting arguments. Yes, folks like that aren’t going to get much help but if you think about it, chances are they didn’t really come here for it anyway.
Tony
I have no way of knowing this, but I have a hunch that tight lending on the part of banks has diminished the newbie ranks.
The irony of this, were it to be the chief cause is that there is more information on this site and CRE as to how to structure deals using other means of funding than any other place I know of.
We are creatures of habit.
Post Edited (04-14-11 21:39)
Rolf, not sure what you mean by “old boys club.” I wish there were more activity here, but the truth is, when I was less busy and owned a whole lot fewer properties I posted much more. I posted only my actual experience and I hope it benefitted others. Now I just don’t have much extra time. Like Ryan said, I’m shoring up my own stuff at the moment. I just finished renting up my apartments and now I’m at 100% (for a day or two, anyway) and so I have a chance to breathe again and check in.
We’re experiencing interesting times, and I think as more of us get our bearings there will be more discussion.
Lin
(female - not part of the “old boys club”)
I have watched these boards for several years now. I have seen many posters come and go. Whistler and Ken(WV) come to to mind of people who I hated to see stop posting. I feel more than qualified to answer almost every question that comes up. The reason I dont post is im lazy it takes a lot of time I hate typing etc.
Ryan Tony and a few others are the only ones that are still here since I started watching these sites. They spend massive amounts of time posting and get very little if anything out of it. But I understand why they do it, they love this bus…
I watch these sites almost EVERYDAY and have for years. I still have questions sometimes. IRAs were the last thing I had questions about. I
posted a question and got no replies so I dug deeper in the archives. I found Ryan and Karl use Equity Trust, so I called them and spent almost an hour and the phone with one of there reps. I now know lots about iras.
The thing is if it was not for these guys posting to other people I would have never known about putting Lonnie deals in an ira.
The reason know one replied ,WHO KNOWS spring is here most people are busy this time of year. I think the posting is down in some part due to the new people who cycle in and out of this site are doing there darndest not to be one of the people layed off of their 9 to 5. In a little time they will start surfing the net and stumble to these sites just like we all did. And they will be full of questions.
*** to start right now posting more… I dont think there is anything that is a deal killer just price droppers.
I look for things I dont like ( homes to close together, one water meter, gravel roads, steep lots, large trees, crime ,drugs etc.). I dont concider these deal killers but they will effect the price I offer.
I’ve found that the people here have given me more along my way than I could ever give back… I walk people through the properties, answer questions, post when I can, and take phone calls daily without charge. My only expectation is that the person gives back to someone else trying to learn the business.
I get a royal kick outa seeing someone
I have been reading this board and CRE for almost three years now. My partner Jerry and I have attended MOMs, Tony and Scott’s Boot camp and the last MHM in Austin. We have learned so much from everyone here. It is true that most posts are from a small group of regulars but I have to agree with Tony that if you dont know or arent sure dont post. I have notice over this time that there are usually a lot of posts from newbies which you dont see now. Jerry and I started working with an individual in our area that we wanted to teach the business to. Him and his wife were very energetic and had some money saved to do the first deal. We were going to split the deal with them and then sell the note so they would have more capital to do the next deal. In the process of looking for a deal they had living expenses increase and wages decrease. They ended up needing to use the money they had saved to survive. I think there are a lot of people out there that dont have the money right now to start, there are no second jobs to raise the capital to buy the first deal. We have all felt it. We have a great park in our area for sale but we cant get financing either to purchase it, we are all feeling the pains of the economy. Thankfully our lonnie deals and land home packages, and rentals are treating us well. This is all with great thanks to those who have posted on here since we started.
THANKS TO GREG, TONY, RYAN, LIN, RICK, AND THE REST OF YOU WHO HAVE MADE THIS AND CRE GREAT INFORMATIONAL SITES.
John
If you think of it another way, the guys and gals that post here are really cutting their own throats by giving away all that free information and creating more competition for themselves. Keep up the good work. I hope to join the ‘old boys club’ one of these days.
a good long while to realize that sharing this knowledge is the ONLY means at my disposal to repay all that has been given to me so freely.
My heroes are not the investors with 170M in portfolio but the ones that freely share info with new folks. Lonnie, Ernest, Steve Case, Tony, Scott and these are the folks that have published books on the business.
At 20 I realized I was NOT a genius…all it took was a semester of Calculus. LOL but I am exceptional at following directions or blueprints. The book DOW helped me make my first mil. Age? 53.
Mike there are enough killer deals out there for all of us and our kids, and all of our friends. A few years in the business I realized that getting others involved in this wonderful business is what gives me real joy. or as Ryan says it watch the light bulb go on…they “get it”! There are a few of us right here on this forum…they post, write books with step-by-step instructions and answer their phones.
Regards,
Greg
Mike all you have to do to become a member of the Good Old Boys & Girls Club is jump in and do some deals, make an investment or give all of us some great advice.
I too am one of the newbies who has gained a tremendous amount of knowledge from this site. My hope is that everyone will put the knowledge available from this site into an action plan and become successful in whatever it is they want. The world is a better place if everyone is tasting success in my opinion.
Best of Luck
Rick
I used to post A LOT at CREOL…in fact, I think my collective posting on REI sites is greater than that of anyone here, with the possible exception of Tony. I do not say that as a “look at me” sort of statement - rather, I mean to point out that I know whereof I speak when it comes to posting. Why do people stop or minimize posting? Couple of reasons, from experience:
Life happens. For example, my kids are at an age that demands my time, time which I am quite happy to give them. They were not so needy when they were drooling little infants, which happens to be when my posting was at its peak. Other things happen…economy, love, health, you never know. I would not assume too much when someone who used to post much slows down. I would be especially careful of imputing some sort of base motive, as opposed to simple “life happens”.
Posting gets old. Answering the same questions over and over gets old, no matter how passionate you are about the issue. If one more person asks me about choice of entity…
The rewards are internal, the hassles real and immediate. If I had a nickel for every ingrate that whined about some less-than-perfect aspect of the FREAKING FREE information they were getting, or a dime for each person who calls my office (RE-centric tax/law practice) wanting to set up a free appoinment…
I have seen one post taken down here that I might have left up…no big deal, my judgment differs from everyone else’s, that’s part of dealing with a community composed of many different sorts of people. The admitted benefit of censorship, to the extent it exists here - this place is not a zoo, as CRE sometimes tends to be.
Dale & Rolf, I do not agree with the tenor of your posts, though I have no intention of discussing it or arguing it in any depth…too many other useful things to do. People post on what they will, when they will, for reasons unknown to others or for no reason at all. If find the idea of an old boys club laughable, people here are helpful in general. I do think it human to more readily help those who provide valuable contributions on a consistent basis, so “who” asks a question does have some relevance, for very good and very human reasons…but an old boys club? I do not think so.
And by the way - I am very open to constructive and polite feedback on desired items for MOM in Ft Wayne, within reason, emphasis on “reason”. But seeing as how it will not be the best use of my time if only the economics were in question, you will find me extraordinarily unreceptive to whining and downright hostile towards any sort of “you owe me” mentality. If direct monetary profit were the object, I’d bill hours or speak at a “platform” event somewhere, instead of hosting the event, as the former would generate significant and certain profits. Just a warning, I’m happy to run the event and will do what makes it a good one in my judgment, those who are inlcined to whine at the result are most welcome to get out of the critic’s chair and host next year’s event, which involves this thing known as “work”.
you rock! The meeting will be worth the trip just to tour your Park. You had some killer pics, but I’m kinda the walk through the community kind of person.
I’ve seen some beautiful Parks the last few years…Karls, Jim and ellen, Pacman,steve and fred’s, john and daphs, anneND and David Protiva,WOW!
And each of them were gems and most were in the infill process…what an education!
If that meeting gets ONE person committed, you’ve done a great thing Rick!
Regards,
Greg