Both meet monthly close to my home and cost about the same for an annual membership.Any suggestions for a newbee - does the larger offer more benefits due to its membership size, or should I go with the smaller group so that I may be able to find a mentor and not get lost in the crowd?

looking at rentals only - lets say your strategy is to purchase to hold and rent - thus sucking up appreciation, depreciation and cash flow, tax benefits etc.rents usually are comparable to values in the area OR they're less (not good - see Long Island, New York).

The benefit to that system is the comission split is 100% , so when you close a deal you get 100% of the comission.Alot of other brokerages and companies do a split.

I'll gladly post it here on the site so others can benefit from it.

"be aware of any transaction where the seller is giving cash or other benefits to the buyer of the property."

I used MoneyTree and it looks like I had to pay:395 for Loan Origination Fee595 for Processing FeeI'm not what else on the sheet MoneyTree is a direct/indirect recepient of but is that considered high or normal?

We begin the due diligence process, looking at… • The country or region • The developer and the developer’s plans • The future of the country or region and how it relates to the interdependent influences of other economies • The risks and potential rewards, the costs versus the benefits • Ultimately: is this something I am willing to invest in?

I know a lot of the benefits but I also want to know what the drawbacks are.

Just some comments to flipper 101 as to that land contract transaction that went south.Well it does not surprise me since anybody can bind the other and to split the legal title with the seller and equitable title going to the vendee or buyer can lead to diasterous results on the title on the property if the buyer claims an equitable interest which he has..and getting a tenant out if he defaults can proves to be a nightmare and how he binded you by encumbering the property is unbelievable.If you suggest using an outside entity such as a trustee why not just use a land trust and get all the benefits of using that enitity and thus by the trustee holding bot the legal and equitable title called the doctrine of equitable conversion now you have a situation where not other party can take advantage of one another and you would all vote to your designated trustee on any and all affairs of the trust property due to it being a beneficiary directed trust so you must ALL be in agreement, sure avoids litigation and disputes and no one can circumvent you on your investment.I know that feeling of getting burned which is why I use land trusts in my investing since all parties are equally protected in any given transaction.We all made our mistakes in this business..that is for sure..

Originators and Realtors also can benefit from making education part of their emerging market programs.