It's been four years since we first launched the REtipster Forum. It's been quite the journey so far as thousands of users have joined and added their voices to our growing community.
We recently made some major updates to give this online community a huge facelift, and I wanted to take a moment to let you know about what's new!
History of the REtipster Forum
When the forum first went live in 2020, the software we chose for this forum turned out to be problematic.
Not long after we launched it, we learned that the software was creating some big SEO issues for REtipster.com as a whole. As a result, we had to lock the forum down and make it visible only to registered, logged-in users.
This was a big disappointment at the time because our biggest goal with this forum was to grow our community and attract new voices worldwide. By making it private, many people couldn't find us as we wanted them to!
Fast-forward to 2024. After four years of limping along with the wrong software, I finally bit the bullet. I invested a sizeable amount of money in migrating our community to a new forum software. So far, it's been a huge breath of fresh air!
This new forum allows all the same users to log back in (after resetting their passwords) and pick up where they left off.
Join the Party!
If you haven't visited our forum in a while, you should check it out!
And if you haven't been to our forum before, this is your formal invitation to join the party!
This is an incredible group of people, with thousands of registered users, and it's only going to get better now that we're working with a vastly improved platform.
Give, and You Will Receive
I learned years ago that when you give more of yourself, your ideas, your time, and encouragement to others, it will return to you in spades. Don't hold back from giving to your fellow forum members; good fortune will come back to you.
Complete Your Profile
Whether you create a new account or log back into your existing account, be sure to complete your profile! Let the community know your real name, where you're from, your website URL (if you have one), your specialties, and what kind of value you can bring to the community.
Just click on your profile to get started.
From within your account, you can add your bio, where you're located, add your website URL, and let the community know your interests and areas of expertise.
This isn't the place to hide behind an obscure username or fake picture. It's a place to be real so you can network effectively, ask for help, and offer help to others so we can all get better at what we do!
Share Your Experiences
If you've done a recent deal or learned a huge business lesson (from a huge success or a disastrous failure), share it on the forum! Many people stand to benefit from your experience, and you can quickly become a well-known and respected community member through your willingness to help others do better.
Ask a Question
Chances are, you're stuck on something. If a person is actively trying to move forward in the real estate business, they're likely stuck on something, and if they aren't currently, they will be soon. There are no dumb questions. If you're confused about something, dozens of other members have the same questions.
This is a safe place to ask those questions! You might be surprised at some of the brilliant feedback you'll get from other members.
Post a Review
Think about the latest real estate-related thing you paid money for. If there's a product, service, software, book, course, or anything else you have recent experience with, let our community know your experience! Other people need to see if you had a great or terrible experience with it.
Check out the Reviews & Recommendations section and post your experiences here.
Doc Swap
Do you have a valuable contract, disclosure, affidavit, letter, or other template that has been useful to you? Are you looking for some examples from other members of our community?
Be sure to visit the Doc Swap section of our forum, where all members are free to request and share the most valuable documents in their arsenal!
Network Like a Pro
Want to connect with other investors in your market or find out who you can help with your professional services?
Check out the Networking category, where you can discover other aspiring real estate investors who are either in your same geographic area and/or working in the same niches and specialties as you!
Build a Reputation. Make a Name for Yourself.
Remember that everything you post on this forum can boost your career, reputation, and respect among others in the real estate industry. Leave thoughtful, well-articulated, and helpful responses. Ask well-thought-out questions that show the community you've spent time and energy thinking through the issues ahead of time.
What Can't You Do?
Like any good forum, there are some ground rules you should know about.
These general guidelines should be followed to keep this forum a helpful, meaningful, and safe discussion place.
No Self-Promotion of Spam
This forum is not the place to advertise your site, property listings, or affiliate links. Any self-promotion for your products, services, paid content, and irrelevant links aren't allowed. Doing so will often result in removal from the forum.
Be Specific and Helpful
This is a place to ask well-articulated questions about specific issues and offer direct and useful feedback. Open-ended announcements, requests for deals, vague or incoherent comments, or generally unhelpful “noise” will be removed.
Be Kind and Courteous
Treat everyone with respect. Healthy debates are natural, but kindness is required. Bullying or rudeness of any kind isn't allowed, and degrading comments about race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender, or identity will not be tolerated.
Create Your Account!
With that said, I want you to drop whatever you're doing and create your free account on the forum!
This community only works if YOU get involved, so put this tool to good use and help add value to the community!
When you join, announce yourself in New Member Introductions and tell me you're there (you can tag me at @retipsterseth). I hope to hear from you soon!