Advantages to people who run rei clubs? - Posted by sdupdike

Real Estate Investing
1

Posted by Barbara_ny on January 06, 2003 at 20:47:59:

Anyway, what did you do to get things started?

FIRST I FOUND A PLACE TO MEET. TRY HOTEL MEETING ROOMS, LOCAL BIZ SITES THAT RENT OFFICES AND CONFERENCE SPACE BY THE HOUR / DAY / WEEK ETC. IHOP WORKS TOO.

How did you know if others in your area were interested?

I LET THE OTHER INVESTOR CLUB REPS NOTIFY THEIR GROUPS FOR ME. I SENT AND FAXED FLIERS TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS, BROKERS, CONTRACTORS, OTHER INVESTORS I FOUND IN MLS AND THROUGH COURT RECORDS, ETC. THEN, CRE’S CLUB SECTION AND WORD OF MOUTH DID THE REST.

Did you go through the National REIA?

NOT AT FIRST BUT EVENTUALLY AFTER TALKING WITH A FELLOW PRES OF A NJ CLUB WHO EXPLAINED ALL THE GREAT BENEFITS.

Are you now investing full time?

YES AND NO. I ALSO STARATED MARKETING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ON THE WEB. I LOVE IT AND SPLIT MY TIME BETWEEN THE TWO.

Do you meet monthly

YES

normally what is the agenda for each meeting

I ALMOST ALWAYS HAVE A SPEAKER ON A PARTICULAR TOPIC WITH A FEW MINUTES AT THE BEGINNING AND END JUST TO SHARE INFO. WE ALL USUALLY STAY AROUND ANOTHER 1/2 HOURS OR SO JUST TALKING ABOUT DEALS AND OTHER GENERAL REI STUFF.

does it take a lot of time to keep up with the club and meetings and stuff?

AT FIRST IT TOOK A BIT OF TIME TO GET THE WHOLE THING GOING BUT THEN IT ONLY TOOK AN HOUR OR SO PER MONTH TO KEEP IT UP;MOSTLY IN PHONE CALL TIME AND ANNOUNCEMENT & NEWSLETTER UPDATES.

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Advantages to people who run rei clubs? - Posted by sdupdike

Posted by sdupdike on January 06, 2003 at 08:54:37:

My husband and I are going to our first rei club meeting tonight. And being that we are new to rei, he is very skeptical of why someone would put in the time and work to run an investment club and hold meetings. Why do they do this, and what advantages are there? Unfortunately, it seems that this meeting tonight is the key to our future investing in real estate. The people that we meet and whatever me might learn has to convince my husband that this stuff is for real, and that real people can make money doing rei deals.

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Re: Advantages to people who run rei clubs? - Posted by Kathi

Posted by Kathi on January 06, 2003 at 16:49:07:

I have not started a REI club, however, I am a trestee of our local Real Estate Investment Association. Some of the advantages for me are:

  1. networking
  2. formal education
  3. discounts on goods and services howm depot, paint stores, carpet stores, locksmiths, title companies, etc.)
  4. informal education
  5. national speekers
  6. did I say networking?
  7. Knowing who to call with a question.
  8. List of resources
  9. Did I say education
  10. Did I say networking.

The list goes on

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Re: Advantages to people who run rei clubs? - Posted by John (Rome)

Posted by John (Rome) on January 06, 2003 at 11:06:01:

could it be simply because they like doing it?..Money isn’t always an issue when setting up clubs and the like…(what advantages are there for those that set up any type of club for pastimes or extra activities -?) though for rei a club can be extremely helpful for networking and as such getting more deals done…and just for the record…why would all the experts here post on the boards for free…becuase they enjoy it and want to help others in this biz…nothing strange in that…I hope.

just my .02

Good luck

J

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Re: Advantages to people who run rei clubs? - Posted by sdupdike

Posted by sdupdike on January 06, 2003 at 11:15:08:

John, I agree 100% with your response. My husband’s philosophy is that “People don’t do things just to help people, they want something out of it” (like money).

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Lots of advantages - Posted by Barbara_NY

Posted by Barbara_NY on January 06, 2003 at 12:56:08:

I run an investment club in NY and hope my answer helps you. I also work with club Presidents in my area on a regular basis to improve all of our ventures. Keep in mind each of us probably has a different reason why we jumped into this role, but here is mine.

I started the club because I wanted to meet people who I thought could help me. I’d been trying for nearly two years to make investing a full time gig with limited success. I was doing deals and making money, but the process to get from A to Z was always much longer than I expected. I knew it wasn’t my drive or my intelligence… it was simply that I was spending tons of time weeding through the muck of unsavory investors, agents, mortgage brokers, lawyers, etc. and it was taking time away from doing deals. I WANTED TO MAKE A LIVING AT REI IMMEDIATELY, not just supplement my income. I knew the only way to do that was to know what to do, when, and who to call, FAST.

I needed people to bounce ideas and questions off of that new my marketplace. I needed referrals from others who’d already done the leg work and homework for me and were willing to share. I needed investors with money to partner with me. I needed to “join the club” so to speak with those in the biz so I could move through the processes faster and be better equipped to succeed. Though more, these were the primary reasons I wanted to join a club.

I asked around for a number of months trying to locate someone who could tell me where a club in my area was. I only learned there had been one once… and it just seemed to just end after years of success. I couldn’t track down the President or anyone with specifics about the organization so I started going to the Ultimate Investors Club in Manhattan. There I met Wesley Barney, its President. He was very nice and willing to share. I got a lot out of those monthly meetings and realized I could do the same thing on Long Island, too. So I did.

Starting a club gave ME the resources and info I needed, as well as the members. It still gives me a return on my investment (so to speak) by delivering ongoing deals, contacts and YES, sometimes even a bit of money when I do a joint venture with a speaker. It is a win / win for all and I’ve never looked back. I am considered a nice person that is in the habit of just helping people, but I am also a business person who knows helping people can bring financial benefit; both directly and indirectly. Just my cup of tea!

So, join me, or my contemporaries in your area for a glass sometime. You’ll be glad you did. :slight_smile: Good luck to you.

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I wish you were doing this in L.A. - Posted by Brad Crouch

Posted by Brad Crouch on January 06, 2003 at 20:49:12:

Barbara,

We need people like you out here!

I used to be a member of a local Real Estate Investment Club. With all the traffic we have here, it would take about an hour to get to the meeting location. I never minded that, though . . . and I always arrived early. I usually helped out by passing this “extra” time arranging name tags, etc.

We had a routine of asking everyone at the beginning of each meeting if they had anything to say to the group. One evening, before the meeting started, I asked the lady who founded and ran the group, to be sure to call on me since I was looking for investors to flip deals to. She said, “Oh, no need! I have lots of those type of folks in my database”. So I didn’t raise my hand during the meeting.

After the meeting was over, I approached her for some of those names she told me about. She said she would furnish those names if I would agree to “cut her in” with a percentage of any business that resulted from her putting me in contact with any of those “flippees”.

I gently refused and she said. “Well, you’ll just have to do it on your own, won’t you?”, as she walked away. I had just passed up an opportunity to locate some folks to flip to, and I wouldn’t get another chance to address the group for another month.

The taste in my mouth was very bitter whenever I thought about this lady and/or her “group”, so I ended up letting my membership lapse, and I haven’t been back.

There is another REI group about twice as far away, and I have already been to a few meetings. Everybody there seems more “civil” and more of those folks seem to actually know what they are doing. In other words, everybody isn’t a “wannabee”, there.

So I guess the “levels of expertise” isn’t within the control of the “leader”. Although I think leading by example is the right way to try it.

Brad

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Barbara, I have a few questions. - Posted by sdupdike

Posted by sdupdike on January 06, 2003 at 14:35:54:

If you don’t mind, I have some questions for you. I may be interested in starting a club here since there isn’t one. I think there used to be one, but not anymore. I couldn’t get in touch with the old contact person. Anyway, what did you do to get things started? How did you know if others in your area were interested? Did you go through the National REIA? Are you now investing full time? Do you meet monthly, and normally what is the agenda for each meeting? Also, I’m sure I know the answer to this, but does it take a lot of time to keep up with the club and meetings and stuff? I’m sorry for asking so many questions, but this will be a big help in deciding whether or not I would like to start a club. Thanks in advance.