For those in the Knoxville'ish areas, just wanted to share my experiences about the Knoxville REIA and recommend any current investors or aspiring investors in the East TN areas (Knox/Sevier/Blount/Jefferson/Anderson) who are serious about getting into REI to attend a meeting if you have not already. First timer Non-Members only need to pay a $20 fee. Meetings are held once a month (typically on a Tuesday night @the Holiday Inn on Cedar Bluff) and are truly an incredible opportunity to network with others in your area. Trying to find a wholesaler? Need a Broker? CPA? Investor savvy Realtors? Hard money guy? Maybe just get advice from a seasoned pro who's done lots of deals? You'll get to meet them all. They're starting to roll out a "deal table" where investors will have the opportunity to buy/sell their deals and if nothing else, get some constructive feedback. The content discussed during the meeting is very interesting. One thing I really like is the meeting starts out with current local market data. What's going on in the area? What are the numbers showing, etc. This puts you ahead of the curve in anticipating what's to come at a local level and is another tool in helping you plan your strategy. @Victor Jernigan is the founder/facilitator of the group and is an incredibly intelligent guy and seasoned investor. He's got an old school, Harvard professor like feel about him but uses tried and true methods and is always glad to share his knowledge (in my opinion this alone is worth the membership fee). Both complete newbies and seasoned investors alike can benefit from the content and topics they discuss.

The guest speakers they have are great too. Topics are interesting and diverse but relevant. Tonight, we had the opportunity to meet and hear from both Jake Stenziano and @Gino Barbaro (truly rockstar RE investors and authors of Wheelbarrow Profits, featured on BP Podcast 182) as well as one of the areas top commercial multi-family brokers, Steve Goldman of Goldman Partners Realty. These guys are absolutely killing it ! They had a wealth of information to share about their stories and were super open to answering questions and giving 1-on-1 advice before/after the meeting.

Also, after talking to Victor tonight, it sounds like they're in the process of rolling out some new analysis calculators (not that BP hasn't been great in developing several already). He's always looking for feedback on what kind of content people are wanting to learn about to continue providing the best content.

Another great thing I like is that KnoxREIA isn't always trying to sell you something (from what I hear many REIA's are notorious for this). You pay the membership fee (either per meet or annually) which is a great value for the network and knowledge you gain, not to mention it gets you many other perks.

All in all, while I somewhat consider BP to be the bible of real estate investor education, KnoxREIA is able to provide more on the local level and highly recommend people in the area check it out. They provide you with the local resources and knowledge you need to help you build your REI business and will meet a lot of awesome people! Being a newbie myself, I can say it's a very welcoming gathering and feel right at home with those sharing the same passion for REI that I do.

And for those wondering... no...I was not paid or given any kind of incentive to write this review. This is my truthful 2 cents. Just felt the need to give credit where it's due. Hope to see you at the next meet!

KnoxREIA website

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KnoxREIA...an absolutely amazing resource!

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