I call them in-between because they are conferences, so not like your local meetups, but they are not truly "industry" conferences like NMHC, where you will meet primarily career, corporate multi-family people.Bigger Pockets Conference and Best Ever Conference are two that likely would cater to people more in your position.  

Go to GET STARTED > EVENTS AND MEETUPS at the top of your screen.

Are you looking to invest locally there?

Check out the events and meetups section for meet ups in your area, they are a great way to connect with local investors. 

Attend local builder associations or networking events, and focus on small contractors or businesses without in-house permit expertise.Highlight how you save time and ensure compliance—it’s a big value-add.

If you are just looking to network I would go the route of meetups locally (you can check above at the toolbar, hoover over forums then to the right you have events and meetups.If you are looking to wholesale and build a list of buyers that fix and flip for deals you may have then I would pull lists from 3rd party sites like Property Radar or propstream.

For a new investor, events like this are a goldmine.

network network network. anywhere there is one in your area go and meet someone and follow up is key after that. there are many good apps to find local RE events

@Mitchel Johnson Welcome to BP and I wish you the best in investing..Usually people start by going to local meetups and building a network of trusted people to get their feet wetHere is an examplehttps://www.meetup.com/find/?

I love that you have specific goals for 2025 - I believe if we think it, write it, say it, and share it our goals are 10x more likely to come to fruition.Are you able to do option 2 and just house hack a 2-4 unit building and use a renovation loan which allows you to put down 3.5-5%I highly suggest getting to some local chicago meetup groups (we have an in person one on the 17th)...here is BPs list: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-real-estate-events-...I also have a full list of the chicago meetups that I can share with you too if that'd be helpful.