Good and Bad Real Estate Investor Clubs

Real Estate Investor Clubs can be a great source to find money partners, other investors, and build your powerteam. I have been to many real estate investor clubs over the years in a lot of real estate markets, so I have seen a lot of different things occur. Unfortunately, I have seen good and bad things at these meetings.

Here are some pointers on what to avoid:
If they do not allow you to attend the first meeting for free, I would consider running away. I tend to believe they are all about the money and not about the education or networking opportunities.

If when you first walk in you see a back table full of books, tapes, cds, and other materials and products with a credit card machine near it.....run....they are all about the money.

If they have astronomical membership dues, i would seriously consider requesting attending the meeting at least two times for free before I bought a membership, because you want to make sure there is true value in the club.

if they only share a portionof the information and then want you to buy a product, I would consider not attending this meeting any longer.

The good things to look for:

The clubs I would recommend as being good are ones where they have designated times in the meeting where they allow their memebers to state what they want and need as far as deals. It is a great and quick way to identify the heavy hitters and main people you want to focus on to do deals with in the future.

They should offer current and up to date information pertinnent to your local market and bring in local industry experts to share their experience and knowledge doing deals that investors do.

They should offer opportunities to network before and after the meeting. It is okay if they bring in local businesses that offer additional business services, but they should not inflict or force these upon you.

They should meet on a regular basis, typically once a month, offer new topics, and education to the group.

In todays market, it is easy and beneficial if the club has a website that members can access and use to network with other members.

Your activity in the clubp can make or break the quality of your experience and the success of your time spent at these meetings.

I always set a goal to hand out a certain number of business cards (and get) each time I go to a club meeting. I am always looking to make new contacts, after all you never know who the other person may know and where that could lead you.

Happy hunting.