Real Estate Investor · Coconut Creek, FL · Member since 2013 · 97 posts · 35 votes
I have been to several REA clubs that deals with Real Estate and I am very tired of meeting people trying to sell me a book/package/bus tour, and etc. I would like to meet genuine people that will help me begin this process in investing in real estate but I have been meeting money hungry people. I have been reading several books on real estate and now currently reading Think and Grow Rich, just to have a positive mindset, because you are what you think. I just want to meet people that really want to meet that want to help me in this journey. I don't mind paying for a membership for a club but I want it to be legitimate. Any ideas? I am in Florida. It can be Broward/Palm Beach/Dade
I dont think I have been to an actual REIA Meeting, I have been to real estate clubs and I don't like the sales pitch. AT Jon I should ignore the speaker
Those are REIA meetings. Real estate club, REIA, same thing. Many of these have the national gurus show up and give their pitch and try to sucker people into signing up. I get tired of that, too. But even with that you can make contacts at these meetings. As you make contacts you will find other meetings that are often smaller and more useful. Hopefully someone will chime in with some truly useful meetings in your area.
@Jordan L. I just did a Google search for "Palm Beach FL REIA" and also for "Dade FL REIA"...got tons of results. You have plenty of options. You're bound to like at least one of them. Some of them may overlap, even.
http://flreia.com/ (I dunno about this because on the calendar, I only see something about "prayers" for the event...dunno what's up with that)
But you get the picture....try all the various options around you.
Many of them have several meetings per month. Yes, many times they have speakers who in the end try to sell stuff, but they usually give great information during their presentation.
The main thing is you're networking with others who do these things right in your area. Going to my local REIA is how I met a landlord who was selling many of his properties and I bought two duplexes from him.
I dont mind paying a fee but i want to be at ease with all the sales pitch. i will keep looking for a mentor,Im not easily influenced but I come to these meetings and really meet great people. thank you so much Nicole. I went to one and the guy was so rude to me when i called to ask questions, which he sayed was ok. i wont let it discourage me. breia offers to come to the first meeting free. i will check it out. I will like to meet like minded folks that are willing to speak on their experiences and give an ear to my questions.
BRIC, Boca Raton Inv Club this Thursday(2nd Thursday of each month) , double tree hotel, NE corner I-95 and Hillsborough Blvd, 6:30 pm. There's always a pitch, but good crowd, contacts, etc.
You can go to Meetup.com, where it seems a majority of REI clubs advertise, Jordan, but this doesn’t answer your question. The best way to find the best clubs, including those that discourage or minimize sales, is to attend a few and ask around. There’s no secret here.
Some clubs are run as profit making organizations and take a cut of anything sold there. These are often free to attend. Others charge just to defray costs. In all cases, the organizers enjoy the “instant” credibility of standing at the front of the room -- warranted or not, which is why most do this. It often allows them to stand in the middle of deal flow and build their business. As you learned, sometimes you need thick skin at these meetings.
A sales pitch doesn’t offend me, unless it turns into a disrespectful waste of time. If this is the norm for a club, I’ll quit going. I also don’t mind paying a nominal fee to attend.
There’s no need to get sucked into club memberships or feel any obligation. Most clubs charge by the meeting and don’t offer much of a discount over a yearly membership. Miss a few meetings and you’re even anyway. Ditto getting sucked into mentors, who should be those you have a personal relationship with and take you under their wing for free because you like one another.
If you want to pay for a coach, make sure he or she is worth it, is not a competitor, and has your interests at heart. There are a million threads here on that so do a search. Understand that this is a business relationship. Coaches are not altruists and care about you to the extent that your next check clears the bank.
As one of the managing members of the Broward Real Estate Investors Association, we are the largest Charter member of the National REIA in South Florida. Our club is focusing on education, networking and meeting great contacts. Although, we sometimes have national speakers selling their product, we also have had some of the top REO agents, city officials speak at our meetings. We also have had our version of Shark Tank where investors pitched their properties and got deals done. If you want to come check out an energetic meeting, you should check us out at www.breia.com . You can attend your first meeting for free by signing up online. We also are one of the few clubs that love realtors, investors of all kind of experience. Our meetings are always the first Wednesday of each month. You can easily build your power team by networking and we always have great food from a cater. Give us a try!!.
Thank you for the vote of confidence. It is people like you who make our REIA strong. We are always trying to have valuable content for our meetings. We normally have only 3 to 4 national speakers a year coming to our event. We know the value of having local speakers and topics that are not selling anything.
Dave Anish - Do you happen to know of any clubs in Indian River or St. Lucie counties? I'm finding that I will have to travel too far south, just to find out the club isn't what I expected. I love that Shark Tank idea for getting deals funded. I've got a great one I'm looking to fund right now. Doesn't seem to be very much going on in Indian River County. Thanks for any help you can provide.
This is exactly what I'm looking for. I just relocated to the Ft Lauderdale area from Indianapolis IN where I owned my own property management business. I'm trying to get plugged in here and restructure my business. I will be checking Broward REIA out!
Hey guys I hope to see you at our meeting this week. We also have a new meeting in Miami. Try us out and come early for the networking as we have a cash bar and Italian buffet.