DIARY ENTRY #21
House Hack Diaries
Real estate is a people business.
At the end of the day, you’re going to need to rely on other people to help you find deals, solve problems, make decisions, and actually get things done. It doesn’t happen in a silo.
If you’re an introvert like me, the prospect of talking to people you don’t know can feel pretty intimidating.
I’ve tested a bunch of different ways to network and these are the ones that have worked best for me. I’ve made some great relationships along the way, and learned that networking doesn’t have to be nearly as scary as it sounds.
BiggerPockets
If you’re starting from scratch, BiggerPockets is probably the easiest and best place to begin.
Although you can learn just about anything there, one of the most underrated parts of the platform is the networking opportunity.
There are investors, agents, lenders, contractors, property managers, and just about every other type of real estate professional you can think of. More importantly, you can narrow that massive audience down to people doing the same things you’re interested in.
Admittedly, my account was collecting dust, so I recently started using it again. Here’s what I’m doing on BiggerPockets:
Updating my profile so people know exactly who I am and what I’m focused on. I want someone to click my name and immediately understand my market, what I do, and what kinds of people I’m looking to connect with.
Searching by location and joining conversations in my market. I’m paying more attention to people investing in Boston, the South Shore, and nearby areas because those are the relationships most likely to turn into real-world connections.
Don’t lurk! Comment and answer questions. The goal is to be useful, share what I know, and become a familiar name over time. Even if you’re new, you can easily say “welcome” to other newbies and that right there could be the start of a dialogue.
Reaching out when there’s a natural reason to connect. If someone says something useful, operates in my market, or is doing something I’m interested in, I’ll send a short message and try to take the conversation offline.
The goal isn’t to rack up followers. It’s to find a few good people, build real relationships, and see where those conversations lead.
Local meetups
I’m a little biased… but meeting people locally is probably my favorite way to network.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s still value in meeting someone house hacking in Indiana when you’re in Massachusetts because you’re going through a lot of the same things. But real estate is hyper-local, which makes building relationships in your own market especially valuable.
That person might know the contractor you eventually hire. They might have worked with the lender you’re considering. Or they might simply become someone you can text when a question comes up (I do this all the time).
The biggest mistake at a meetup is showing up, standing around, and hoping the right conversation magically finds you. Here are a few easy ways to get started:
Talk to the host. They usually know who’s in the room, what people are working on, and can often introduce you to someone with similar goals.
Use the event itself as your opener. If someone asks a good question, go up to them afterward and say you liked it. That’s way easier than inventing small talk from scratch.
Ask people what they’re working on. It’s an easy conversation starter and usually leads somewhere more interesting than “what do you do?”
Follow up afterward. Lack of a follow up game is where most people fail at networking. If you had a good conversation, send a quick text or LinkedIn message the next day. If there’s a real reason to keep talking, grab coffee or stay in touch.
Friends of friends
When I was talking to my friend James, who I met through the meetup I hosted, he suggested starting a lunch club.
The idea was simple: get a few people together for lunch and have everyone bring someone else they think the group should know. Maybe one person brings a lender, another brings an investor, and someone else brings a contractor or agent. Now everyone leaves knowing a few more people than they did before.
That’s the beauty of friends-of-friends networking. One connection can open the door to an entirely new circle.
A few ways to make that happen:
Make introductions when there’s a clear fit. If someone mentions they need a contractor, lender, agent, partner, or even another investor using the same strategy, think about who you already know.
Bring your circles together. Invite someone from a meetup to coffee with someone you met on BiggerPockets. Bring a friend to the next event. The more overlap you create, the bigger everyone’s network gets.
Ask who else you should meet. If you connect with someone great, there’s a good chance they know other people you’d get along with too. Just ask!
Be the connector. The more often you help good people meet other good people, the more valuable your network becomes too.
That’s when networking stops feeling like collecting contacts and starts feeling more like a community.
The compound effect
Networking compounds. The key is to stay consistent by reaching out to people on BiggerPockets, attending meetups, and bringing like-minded people together on your own.
I want to hear from you: Reply to this newsletter with other networking tips you’ve tried!