Expectations of REIA meetings?

[Andrew F.]

Hello all,

As you can see, I'm very much new to the world of REI, and still in the (sometimes overwhelming) data-gathering phase of "how things work." As part of the suggestions I've read & heard over the past few months, I finally decided to attend one of the REIA events in my area. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect - presumably just a lot of networking and maybe some discussions on deals and strategies happening amongst the attendees, which of course is exactly what I need to surround myself with as a beginner.

What I found was a bit different...nearly all of the 2 hour session was a guest speaker, who started off being very interesting, but then started showing $80k profit deals and testimonials of massive success from "students." And then of course, the guest ultimately ended up trying to hard pitch a marketing program for the low, low price of $1800. But wait, it was limited to only the first 8 people that take their credit card to the back table right now and hold their spot. And tonight, but only tonight, they were offering $500 off the entire program, as well as $10k of bonus information....really?

To be clear, I'm not at all trying to speak negatively towards this REIA. Frankly, I don't know the group, and it was very well attended and organized, and obviously it takes a lot of hard work and coordination to manage, so kudos the group for that. However, my expectations were for more of a networking and strategy session, not a sales pitch from a "guru" who throws a few nice ideas out and then tries to reel everyone in to an expensive system.

Maybe I'm just naive, or jaded by the BP Podcast which constantly reinforces the shadiness of these gurus and their systems? What are everyone's thoughts and experiences with their local REIA?

Thanks in advance