In addition, few compared the terms of financial products or shopped around before making financial decisions.Source:http://www.finrafoundation.org/web/groups/foundati...

Hmm;  Just like a day trader on Wall Street, the REI REQUIRES that you understand:the market itselfrules of the engagementand fundamentally,  THE NUMBERS!

I recommend starting at the NARPM web site to find one.  

@Brian McKelveyWelcome to BiggerPockets, the site I consider to be Best for Real Estate on the web. 

You can find a list at the counties' web sites or when they are posted.

I learned that there is a fundamental disconnect between how the two groups viewed buildings. 

I have done Venture point before, on the co-workspace side, I got a good monthly deal and it worked out really well when I was using it for my web design work, and I might go with them again, but  haven't seen recent pricing.

There is a lot of free information on here and on the web that can at least get you educated a little more on real estate. 

Simply click on my name in blue then scroll down to REI Weal Builders and the web address of the group OR whichever LinkedIn group you're interested in.

As another datapoint, I frequently check the web traffic of the big players as a proxy of popularity, investor views, etc.