The topics, the professionalism and the knowledge you gain from REIA is absolutely priceless.We meet 3 times monthly including a round table 1 on 1 for dinner at Bigboy and Breakfast at Uncle John. 

Very cool congrats on your success over the past 5 years and thank you for all the knowledge you share!

I'm not an expert but am handy and a fast learner.

I hope to gain some contacts and knowledge through this site

(Closing attorneys, contractors, other investors or realtors with knowledge of the best and worst neighborhoods for long term rentals, property management references,etc.)

In all cases the comps the appraisers used obviously demonstrated the appraiser's lack of knowledge of the area, so I suspect the comment of @Josane Cumandala is correct - they're using unqualified saps who got a mail-order certificate from somewhere.In any case, there's no real defense against this.

I let the experts do their jobs and I do mine.

I have no knowledge about other states contracts but in Florida it is very easy to detect a contract written by a wholesaler.

I'm NOT an expert on this, so take my opinion for what it's worth, not much. 

REI, like more things in life, is not complicated but it is nuanced and requires in-depth knowledge.