Hi, I'm considering buying a property and would like to connect with fellow hosts in the area.

I wish we could nail the fake pump and dump due diligence PML that infect the internet in the same manner as this.

Quote from @Andy Port: I'm currently looking to take some money out of traditional investments and begin investing directly into real estate as a passive investor on syndicated deals.The internet is pretty much copy-paste with advice on how to access real estate and defaults to saying "Just invest in a REIT - its the same" except you pay for the entire pool of existing properties (even if they have low yields in less opportunistic areas), the entire management team's multi-million dollar salary and their private jet, etc...

You are on the internet too much and not talking to real-life real estate investors enough.

Crowdfunding is essentially old-school syndications that use newer regulations that allow them to market over the Internet. 

There is nothing they do that you can't find for free on the internet. 

Anyhow, I feel like guest feedback, good and bad, only helps make one a better host!

The internet and video calls make the world pretty small! 

A couple of months ago, I ran across one of Dave Meyer's videos, and that led me to the podcast, and that led me to the Real Estate Rookies podcast, and a host of others who I won't mention, but were nevertheless valuable.

I just checked, and while it does not appear that there are any upcoming events in central Illinois hosted by BP Members (https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-real-estate-events-...), it does look like there are some big ones in other parts of the state.