I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share their personal thoughts or experiences on how real estate investing has benefited their community.

Another benefit is that you will know if a job is done right and that you won't get screwed over by a shady contractor in the future.

Seller financing may operate as a marketing benefit and it *might* allow you to FSBO more successfully without needing to pay a realtor commission. 

I'm not against it at all because of the benefits and knowledge that comes with it.

Personally, I just made this post to spread awareness in hopes it could benefit other investors.

I do own my home here and will benefit from that.  

In my opinion I have found a tremendous benefit to working with someone else (as long as they are involved and being productive)1) having a partner gives you someone to bounce ideas off2) To me it's more motivating (ex, let's see who gets in front of more people this week)3) They can help finance your growth  with you.As long as you and your partner are motivated and skilled enough to succeed, you will do more than twice the amount of business that you would do alone, and make half of that.Hope this answers your question.

I have a video here in BP in my profile called "The Search for the Motivated Seller" that I think you might benefit from watching.  

Many couples  want to use the 5 year period post divorce for real property transactions that can still benefit from the section 121 marital exclusion on capital gains. 

I have heard some investors say that a realtor's license is a huge benefit and you should have one while others say it is not necessary.