New member from Northeast PA (Wilkes-Barre area)

[Scott Pearson]

Hi,

I'm a beginning investor looking to buy multi family units in a buy and hold strategy that will supplement retirement.

My first question is are there any meetup groups in the area (Wilkes-Barre/Nanticoke, PA)?

Is there a good place to find rental contracts or leases?  If I should be searching the forums be before asking let me know.

What is a good first book to read on being a landlord?

Thanks,

Scott

[Bob Derwin]

There are 2 active groups that I belong to in Luzerne County. The NEPA Real Estate Investors Network meets monthly at the Perkins restaurant in Pittston. There is no charge for this group. This group is more investor oriented. We have folks that come from as far away as Williamsport and New Jersey, but a majority of the members are from the greater Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. We meet on the 2nd Wednesday of every month. Meetings run from 7 to 9 or so. There is usually a guest speaker, or a member of the group will speak about a real estate investing topic. After the speaker, we have networking time, to get to know what each other is doing, and discuss deals, etc. The next investors network meeting is set for Wednesday August 14.

There is also the WVREIA (Wyoming Valley Real Estate Investors Association). This group meets on the last Tuesday of most months (there are no meetings in July, August, or December). This group was more landlord oriented, but we are in the process of recreating ourselves to become more balanced between landlording and real estate investing in general. There is a nominal yearly fee for this group (I believe it's 55 dollars), which is used to cover soft drinks, a sandwich tray, and renting of meeting space. This group meets in the Dolphin Plaza on Rt 315 in Wilkes Barre (between the casino and the Woodlands). Again, this group tries to have guest speakers. In the past we have had an insurance agent, a magistrate, insurance adjuster, flooring store owner, and many others guest speakers. The next WVREIA meeting is set for Tuesday September 24, meeting starts at 7.