Went to my first REIA meeting tonight
I attended my first REIA meeting tonight and wasn't sure what to expect since I've listened to some of the BP podcasts and read other information about how some of these are really just sales pitches. It was really AWESOME!!! (yes, Josh, like Brandon I say awesome, too, but I'm older and my generation invented it so it's okay. lol)
I was pleasantly surprised that
- 1) I wasn't the only newbie who showed up. There were quite a few of us in the room.
- 2) Some of the "newbies" weren't knew to the Real Estate business. The lady I sat next to used to be a real estate agent but has been out of the game for 8 years and is now getting back in so that she and her husband can retire and live in our area comfortably. Oh, and she had never heard of BiggerPockets so I was excited that I got to introduce her to it! :-) Look forward to hearing her thoughts at the next meeting.
- 3) The person leading the group highly recommended to the everyone that they go read BiggerPockets and listen to the podcasts (after I brought up the site and asked what people thought). He said he's a member and he even brought up a list of the podcasts on his computer and the topics discussed. He also suggested another site where people can join for free and said "don't buy the program, just use the free forums." Yeah! Gives me more trust toward these folks, even though we've just met.
- 4) I got some good advice (I think) about some options for the home my brother and I have in Madera. I like the idea of doing seller financing better than using it as a rental. This gets both of us out of the landlord business in a crummy area with low rent but gives us a decent return that we could put toward something else. I still need to read up and get advice on how to structure something like that, but I feel pretty good about discussing this option with my brother now. I'm positive that he's never even thought about that.
- 5) Several people brought up deals they were working on or considering so that we could brain storm and give advice. I thought this was great because all of us new folks got to learn something and even the veterans say they learn something knew at every type of meeting they attend.
Anyway, I am super excited and I can't wait for my next meeting!!!
And I am so thankful that I found BiggerPockets by accident! If I hadn't, I'd still be planning to retire in 20 years (or more) with my stock portfolio only. Not that it would be a bad thing because I also get advice from Motley Fool for that side of my investing life and they've done a fabulous job for me. But I really like diversification and passive income is my biggest goal. After reading info here on the forums, listening to your podcasts, and everything else, I now feel like I don't have to wait 20 years to get out of this rat race. Maybe in 5 or 10 years, I'll be financially independent and then I can work part-time and with less stress. And also take time to give more back to others. Now that would be truly AWESOME!!
Thanks for letting me yap...