As far as local meetups go, here is a good one: https://www.meetup.com/DFW-REI-Meetup-by-Propelio/ It is put on by Propelio, so there is a little bit of promotion of their product but it isn't more then a few minutes of plugs.

@Christoval Esquivel   There has been a lot of slow down in the sales and rentals.

My agent has recently shared a listing of a potential monthly income rental property in Puyallup areDetails:4 Plex (2 of 1 br/1ba and 2 of 2br/1ba)Located in South Hill neighborhood in PuyallupBuilt in 1976 (needs some renovation)Current Monthly income: $3k 5% CAP Rate(With renovation can potentially increase monthly rent up to $4.5K 8.9% CAP Rate according to Rentometer.com)Knowing that real estate market in Greater Seattle area is slowing down, should I pull the trigger on this opportunity?

Your equity is far too valuable for it to suffer a slow death or risk to a down turn in the markets.

I would take the tax free gains on that property and reinvest that in a more productive asset.

From what I understand, it's partially to persuade people to upgrade to a pro account but mostly to prevent the forums from being flooded by PM's, agents, contractors, wholesalers, flippers, etc. who are just looking to advertise their products/services. 

I have never had a problem putting a new loan on them at that point with the original or a new lender at current interest rates.But that's generally because A) the properties had appreciated in value and B) there is quite a bit of principal pay-down on 20 year amm in the first 5 years.My decision has always been more about do I want to pull more money out, roll it into another 20 year product and lower the payment or continue paying it off on a 15 year schedule.To deal with those questions and answer your question about 'protection', is kind of a personal business decision.

I like the suggestions above,  hang around the Home Depot near the furnace/water heater products and see if you can find a guy who does side jobs.  

I've been slow to participate in the community, but am tying to be more active and not 'lurk' like in the past. 

Afternoon, I work for a Commercial/Residential brokerage firm in Phoenix, specializing in court ordered sales and judicial appointments; we frequently find ourselves with investor worthy product.