Find the REIA group for your areaAs Henry noted, post something specific for your area and tag your market.Get on Loopnet for your area and property type, reach out to the brokers that are listing deals and offer to take to coffee (they are often invested in deals too but you could ask for connections to other operators that might be getting started).And, again as Henry noted, each person you meet, ask them what other networking events they have attended that you can put on your list.

Maybe I’m being a little optimistic, but I feel like this is a good starting point for us.I’m not interested in investing outside of Orange County for our first property since we know the area really well.Networking:I’d also love to attend some real estate meetups around here and connect with people in the space.

Ideally, I’d be buying and selling and potentially managing properties as a job, and be working the gardens and hobby farming, potentially attending farmers markets on weekends (we both love to create things).

A great way to start is by attending RE events and joining a local investors association.

I also recommend that you attend some local real estate investment meetup groups.

Attend your local REI meet-ups and try to find someone who is currently house-hacking or has house-hacked in the past to learn from their experience.

Do you have any advice on how to go about attending my first meeting?

Even if the HOA currently allows rentals, it’s worth attending HOA meetings or reviewing their amendment history.

I would recommend finding some local meetups to attend, and also tuning into the Straight Up Chicago Investor's Podcast.

I attend many of them myself.I'd be happy to connect.