This assures them I'll attempt to perform on their court while reciprocity guarantees me another agency that works with investors(also an ice breaker i.e.

charter is a nice icebreaker into note brokering for newbies. 

I think a more ambitious strategy would be to "flood the zone with value" - specifically, pick a few listings in the geography you are interested in that are being mismanaged and propose your plan to that owner just as an ice breaker.

It won't get you anywhere fast and icebreaking with fellow investors is good practice for dealing with sellers and buyers.Hope to see you at REIAofOakland.com:)

My main goal right now is to learn the ins and outs of the industry, and purchase my first property before the start of 2018.On the reading list right now is:The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Real Estate Investing (Brandon Turner)The Miracle Morning (Hal Elrod)The Book on Rental Property Investing (Brandon Turner)Since these first posts are more meant as an Ice breaker, I'll throw out that my favourite kind of ice cream is vanilla, because it pairs with toppings so well, and tastes good by itself.

We all have a common interest so that is a great ice breaker and as  @Chris Titus mentioned people love talking about their passions which for many of us is real estate investing. 

A good ice breaker is asking people what they do during the day and how long they have been doing real estate.

Last meeting was a good icebreaker for meeting strangers and talking about stuff that made people around us either eavesdrop or scoff!

I believe the LOI is a great method to capture a certain level of formality while serving as an ice breaker to start the conversation with the seller.  

I may try to gather some folks in the near future to have a very casual and less structured meet up, like maybe over a few drinks at a bar or something just for some ice breaking.