The few REI meetings I have attended so far have either been no-shows or asking for$10K to $20K for have access to education materials or mentoring.

It irritates me to no end that I have to manually check that guests have paid before granting access.

If not, contractors, mortgage brokers, anyone who has access to investors?

In your opinion, what could Lansing groups do to improve?

Privacy, sound barrier, and curb appeal all improved tenfold within those two days.

But then have to go back and access it every time work needs to be done at any house?

What an awesome find and improvement.

Darren,You need to compute your tax 'basis', because yes you'll get the $250k (or $500k if you're married) but often some of the improvements and $ you've put into it will come into play if you're over the $250k. 

Join your local REIA and get access to other lenders, or join Illinois REIA online.

I also have access to Buildium through my PM, so I can see not only who has paid before those rents are kicked over to me, but I can see any repairs done during the month as well as as print out any P&L statements for each property.