We don't have a huge cash pile, but we own most of our RE free and clear.

You will need $20k in startup costs plus you should invest atleast $50k in your syndication and have a track record to show investors what you have for experience

In the beginning since they don't know what your capable of it will be costly to use Hard Money.

It is usually dangerous to assume you can cut costs. 

My club is one of the biggest in the country and the cost if really cheap ($175/yr) and we have about 20 meetings a month!

Most lenders will finance a portion of the property and 100% of the rehab costs.

So all things considered, the 5% and 6% returns don't sound terrible to me, especially given the costs of selling and where the market is in general (high prices and relatively high interest rates).The 1.5% on the other hand is pretty tough to swallow.

Agreed with above - explore every low cost option to collect, but ultimately, it is the cost of doing business. 

Take out fees, closing costs, etc. and that's maybe 15-18k to play with.

Feel free to call me out, but I would be more impressed with the guy that made $1 but made a significant difference in the life of a motivated seller to the point that the seller could come on the show, to share their story of the integrity of the investor.