I'm going to my first local REI meeting. What should I say or not say?

Question

I'm going to my first local REI meeting in a couple of weeks.  I have not idea what to look for in terms of whether or not this is a good group or if I can gain anything from it.

Is there anything I should keep my eye open for in terms of if this is a "good" meeting with "good" people?

Is there anything I should say or not say that might make the more experienced want to try to take advantage of me?

If I'm wanting to become a landlord with a buy-and-hold long-term strategy, who should I be looking for at this meeting that might have inventory that is not on the MLS that I could get a better deal through than buying off the MLS?  Inventory is very slim where I am (Atlanta, GA area) and I'm trying to find good inventory that is not on the MLS so I have a better shot and getting a good deal on a property.

Any other advice is very welcomed as I am completely in the dark as to what to expect from this meeting and how I should approach it.  In other words, I don't know what I don't know.

Cristina Corredor · Answer

Arrive early, have your elevator pitch ready to introduce yourself. Check who is doing good questions and talk to them, ask if you can call them to talk more deeply of what you do. All contacts at some point can be important, so be open. Make yourself memorable, different, maybe write something in your card.

William Roberts · Answer

Be open and honest, let them know your just starting out, it's ok we all started at some point in our careers. You'll find everyone super helpful I'm sure. I bet when you leave there you'll be even more stoked to find that first deal. Good luck.

Tim G. · Answer

Go, meet and go with the objective of making one meaningful connection.

Don't over think it.

Brian W. · Answer

Thanks for your reply Cristina.  You live in a beautiful part of the country, by the way.  It's been way too long since I've last been up there.

That's good advice to listen for who's answering questions very well and try to get with them.

I don't have a 10-second pitch nor do I have cards.  Should I?  I'm a beginner investor who's looking for his first property.  I'm just going to the meeting to check things out and see what they have to offer.  Would I be putting the cart before the horse by going to this meeting?

Troy Fisher · Answer

There's the secret of the Clubs right there, most of the time it's not about what is being presented, or taught, it's about the networking.  If you are not a wholesaler, the deals will come to you at your meetings.  If you are a wholesaler then you get to try and sell your deals!  Building those relationships are key.

Brian W. · Answer

I thought I'd update this thread with my experience of my first REI meeting.

The people there were great.  Each person had their paradigm of investing in real estate and it was very interesting and educational to hear about each of those paradigms.  Every single person there was very nice as well as humble, no matter their level of success.

With respect to learning about real estate investing from BiggerPockets vs. the meeting, the overall pace of the meeting for me was too slow since each person can really only ask one question per meeting.  Understandably, if each person asked as many questions as they wanted to, the meeting would never end.  So, as a new investor with so many questions, I still find BiggerPockets to be a more valuable and much more efficient source of education for me.

Will I go back?  Probably.  But, I won't have the same expectations I did of coming away having learned as much as I would have if I were to spend the equivalent amount of time here on BiggerPockets.  Instead, I will go in with the expectation of meeting more of the people and seeing how we might do business together.

AC Cooley · Answer

Brian,

Who is sponsoring this meeting in Fayetteville? How did you find out about it? I'm interested in possibly attending. There are not many REI meetings south of I-285

Kyle Zaylor · Answer

Hey Brian W. awesome job getting out there and meeting others in the RE community! While it's your first event, you've got plenty of value to bring to the conversation. I love talking with people new to RE about what motivates them, why they decided to make that first move into RE, etc. You'd be amazed at how much you can bring to the table from your past experience--even being new to the game. Good luck!

Mehran Kamari  you beat me to the blog post about breaking the ice at a networking event!

Brian W. · Answer

Fantastic advice Troy.  Thanks.

Mark Ferguson · Answer

I went to my first meeting a few weeks ago and it is was very laid back.  No need to dress up.  I met three wholesalers and I was going to follow up with them and I lost their cards.  Oops.

I'm going to my first local REI meeting. What should I say or not say?

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