New Investor in Chicago In Search of a Real Estate Club

[Amir Elias]

Hello everybody,

My name is Amir, and I’m a new investor who is really interested in Real Estate Investing. I’m 26 years old. My primary interest is buying properties for rent. I’m based out of Chicago (north side). I’d love to join a local real estate club to meet other investors or individuals for networking purposes and to share knowledge/ideas. Can someone help me out by showing me how to find those or pointing some out if you live in north side Chicago?

PS: I’m sorry if there is an obvious way to find this out. I’m new to this forum and a lot of what I find online is marketing targeted to get people to buy classes. While I do find this helpful and potentially beneficial I would prefer meeting other local investors and networking that way.

Thank you everyone and have a wonderful day!

[Prashanth Mahakali]

@Amir Elias

Welcome to BP. This is a great place with tons of resources and really helpful experts. How I would do it if I were to start all over again is to gather a great team of Realtor, lender, Architect and contractor. These people will ensure that your investment will go long and far. Real estate is not kind even for the most seasoned investors. While other’s returns seem great, the hidden cost is often neglected. If you get into this, your life will change and you have to be ok with it. Know your goals and work toward them. Good luck!

[Amir Elias]

@Prashanth Mahakali

Thank you so much for the input and the encouraging words. I appreciate your reply (:

[Crystal Smith]

Originally posted by @Amir Elias:

A few local recommendations:  Check the forum for the monthly Shark Tank meeting held by @Brie Schmidt.  Also check on the meeting held by the Chicago Creative Investing Association .  You can find others by searching on Meetup.

[Ari Kirk]

Amir Welcome!

There are no shortage of what I call "guru meetups" in Chicago! That being said, the fact that these meetings generally end with a sales pitch does not mean there is no valuable information to be gained. I attend one of these types of events at least once a week. While my entire job is finding and analyzing off market investment deals and getting them in front of investors, I have yet to go to a meeting and learn nothing. As a few have mentioned before me as well, building your network is vital. I have met people with varying degrees of experience and skills at these clubs as well. Get out there, decide which ones you like, or just rotate groups depending on your schedule. There is always something to gain!

[Amir Elias]

@Crystal Smith

Crystal,

Thank you so much for the recommendations. I’ll definitely check them out!

[Amir Elias]

@Ari Kirk

Ari,

Thanks so much for your input. I appreciate it.

[Amy Aziz]

Hello, @Amir Elias. Thank you very much for reaching out to the BiggerPockets community. It’s a good start towards successful deals. Congratulations and best of luck on your future endeavors. 

[Scot Howat]

Check on meetup.com for REI groups.

I volunteer with CAREIA.org (Chicago Area Real Estate Investors Association).  It's a non profit group, and there's no sales or pitching of any kind.  

[Nathaniel Green]

@Amir Elias Hi Amir and welcome have you had any luck finding a REI group?