ReiJournal.com

Whether you are just getting started or are an experienced real estate investor, there is great value in joining a real estate club in your city. If you are in a city with an active real estate club, you will find it an invaluable resource in a variety of ways. You can be exposed to new ideas from members in your own community, shop and find deals, arrange creative financing, get referrals and much more.

Here are six powerful reasons to join and be active in your local real estate group.

1. Networking - Networking is really the number one reason for joining a real estate investment club. In any fair sized city, there will be anywhere from 50 to 200+ people at the monthly real estate meetings. That is a large number of folks out there just like you doing deals, having specific knowledge of neighborhoods, creative ways to make a complex deal workable and much more. Chances are only about 10-20% of the group are really active and extremely knowledgeable with the rest either learning or just doing a small number of deals a year. So not everyone can help you with every issue. But with those percentages, you can find an answer to just about any question in the group or from contacts that the group has.

   Of course networking works only as well as your skills at networking. If you go to the monthly meetings, take a seat, listen to the talk and leave you won’t get full value out of the meetings. If you are new, you may find it more comfortable to do this for a few meetings but you really need to stretch yourself and strike up conversations with fellow attendees. You will find the conversations and relationships you build rewarding - personally, professionally and financially.

2. Monthly Education Program - Most real estate groups have a monthly keynote speaker discussing some aspect of real estate investing. Sometimes it is a local speaker discussing strategies that work in your city right now. And sometimes it is a national speaker talking about his method of investing in real estate. While all education is good, a local speaker who is an active investor is a gold mine. Getting current information about your local market and trends in the local marketplace is a huge help in investing - and local speakers are accessible so you can network with them on a variety of issues that are germane to the local marketplace.
3. Shopping Deals - Did you find a great deal that doesn’t fit your investment parameters. You can often shop it to other investors at the meeting. If it is a deal you have under contract, you can sell the contract and make a few bucks. If it is a deal you just know about but don’t have under contract, you can make a lasting friend by passing the information along.
4. Finding Deals - The reverse of number three. If you put the word out about the kinds of deals you are looking for, other members will approach you with opportunities that are perfect for your investment portfolio.
5. Finding Funding - Funding is a foundational key to real estate investing. Some group members offer direct funding and many have access to private and hard money lenders - or high level contacts at banks and other traditional financing institutions. By chatting up your deal and your needs, you are likely to find a way to make the funding work with the advice or assistance of another member of the group.
6. Getting referrals - Another cornerstone of real estate success is being able to work with quality people - Realtors, insurance agents, attorneys, contractors and craftsmen. Anyone who has been alive for any length of time knows that quality in any service industry can vary greatly. By discussing your needs with other investors and getting referrals you can take a shortcut in the school of hard knocks and work with the better service people in your community.

There are of course many more benefits to being a member of a local real estate club. The bottom line is that as an investor, your network is important. A real estate investment club is a great place to build/supplement your network and it is highly recommended that you use this valuable resource to your fullest ability. The positive result of this will show up in your bank account pretty quickly.