Who to connect with as an investor

[Oleg Enik]

Hey BP,

Everybody knows that your connections and networking is the most important thing in real estate. And I totally agree with that! I love connecting with people and getting to know them and what they do.

My questions is, as a person who plans to invest in the near future, but wants to set his foundation right now by getting to know the right people, what kind of people are the most important when it comes to connections? I'll give in an example to clarify my question.

I already can predict what most people are going to say: real estate agents!! While I value what a good real estate agent can bring to the table, I'd love to hear some other responses for 2 reasons. First, I am licensed myself and where I live (Los Angeles), in my experience working in acquisitions, there are not that many real estate agents that can bring me good deals. Most deals that RE agents bring are on market and are over priced. There are many other ways to find deals besides using agents.

So to continue my question, which party would bring the most value to the table? Would it be property managers, contractors, lenders, other investors, etc?

I'd love to hear your guys' opinions and why you think that is the most valuable party that can bring something to the table for an investor. And just to clarify, I am not looking to invest at this exact point of my life, but as soon as I get all the right pieces in place, I'll be ready to utilize all the connections I have made so far. 

Thanks!