I received approx. 7 inquiries in the first 24 hours.The first applicant was referred to me via a volunteer group of which we are both members and is an acquaintance.

They are not going to volunteer all these relationships to you, nor will these people treat you like the experienced investor, but if they know you have experience from working under that investor there is a chance they will be more open to having a relationship with you based upon the experience of the other investor.Hope that helps...PS The best thing about a mentor in your local market is a great mentor will know the market well enough to know a deal without having to use guess work, they typically understand the little differences in neighborhood that might cause a radical drop in house values of homes that might look like deals, but are really "Money Pits".

Hi @Nichole Wall Do you have the time or ability to volunteer one day a week for him, in exchange for some mentoring?

I do lots of volunteer work and give to food banks, health clinics, and battered women shelters.I mentor others who also give back to community - whether the impact is local or global.I'm new to REI so don't ask me for advice. 

No sense in paying the bank fees for no reason.Plus you might want to go volunteer for Habitat for a while.

@Brian Jobson,Here is something that might be of Interest to you:Davie/Weston/South Florida REI Buy & Hold Networking GroupWHEN:THIRD Thursday of every month @ 8pm, in Davie, FL.First meeting is as follows:Thursday, April 17th 2014 @ 8pmWHERE:Dunkin DonutsConference Room9740 Griffin Road, Cooper City (Davie), FL 33328tel. 954-916-7200TOPICS: (1 hr time plan):- Introductions- Goals, volunteers, & format of meeting.- Topics to be discussed for next month's meeting.- Open dialogue & sharing of ideas.FREE to attend.

Was that your hand going up when a call for volunteers is posted, lol?

At first it might only be on a volunteer or commission basis, but over time you might be able to work out a deal where you gain some equity in exchange for labor.

In my case, the board is composed of volunteers that already spend a considerable amount of their time taking care of HOA business.

Meanwhile, he seems like a really down to earth guy and he volunteered to drop in and join you here on the thread . . .