Are there any forums/meetings in Chicago that I can attend?

Question

Dale Stevens · Answer

@Jerome Lanier I wouldn't call Elmhurst a South Suburb. That is more a western suburb. With that being said, I can NEVER recommend the Chicago REIA group. The founder has a youtube video where he literally brags that he makes more money selling programs about real estate than doing real estate. (Andrew Holmes)

As to groups in the area, there are a bunch, and you should attend most at least once. I did. And boy was it eye opening. They key is to realize they are all different. So going to one, doesn't mean all others are the same. While it is true that most tend to have a presenter that comes in just to sell you their program, i found a few that don't do that. (of course i liked those).

There is one called WCRT that meets at the same location (albeit for far longer) as the ChicagoREIA. They flat out don't allow sales from presenters. There are a few on Meetup.com, that were ok as well.

If you want, feel free to reach out to me and i will give my input on the clubs. Oh there is one I found on meetup that meets in Oak Brook, run by two guys, and after doing my research turns out the two guys seem to owe just about everyone money from a failed deal. I won't be returning to that group run by those con-artists again. I can't even remember the group name, just that their own personal company was named Matterhorn or something like that.

Michael Barbari · Answer

I agree with @Dale Stevens

WCRT is great. No sales. All investors like us who learn from each other. Many people even find deals there.

Gerardo Dominguez · Answer

@DaleStevens @MichaelBarbari I'm glad to hear the positive feedback on WCRT. I'm going to one of their events later this week.

http://www.meetup.com/Gurnee-Cashflow-for-Real-Est...

Wendell De Guzman · Answer

CAREIA (Chicago Real Estate Investors Association) in Lisle is a good one. They are a non profit REIA and there's no guru pitch.

@Shelly Forte is organizing a BP Meetup although it's in the NW suburbs (very far from you).

I also organize a Lender Meetup every third or fourth Wednesday of the month in Downers Grove. I get different types of lenders during these meetups.

Jeff Valentino · Answer

I finally got the first Chicago South Meetup booked. 7/28 in Orland Park.

Details here-

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/207...

Brie Schmidt · Answer

@Renardon Calhoun

I help run a event on the North Side of Chicago, which is nowhere close to you. But our group was started because a lot of the groups were more about the organizer pitching their own objectives and making money. The problem is you don't know if it is right for you until you go yourself. So try some out and find one that you feel comfortable with.

Jeff Valentino · Answer

I'm finally starting a Chicago South BP meet up! It will be in July-more details to come early next week. :)

John Warren · Answer

I am attending southwest suburban landlord meetings in Berwyn. My first meeting was awesome and I got a reference to a great contractor. I highly recommend it if you are in the southwest burbs.

Derek Walvoord · Answer

I used Meetup as well, and have found some good groups.

I really like the Southside Builders Association, and South Side Community Investors Association.

I am a Southsider, so I tend to focus on these groups.

Jerome Lanier · Answer

There are a few different one in the Chicagoland area

• https://www.ccia-info.com/home.html
• http://careia.org

The only issue I had with these is they were all in the NW suburbs however today I found one for the South Suburbs.

• http://www.chicagoreia.org

Using http://www.meetup.com also proved pretty helpful for me. I hope this helps.

Are there any forums/meetings in Chicago that I can attend?

Are there any forums/meetings in Chicago that I can attend?

Most Popular Reply

10 Replies