In this era of opportunity for the real estate investors it is important that you develop a healthy understanding of your local REIA (real estate investor association), fellow investors, and your business.
There is no better place to find such a large number of real estate investor in which to network and construct deals with than at the meetings and events of your local REIA. Business without a REIA would make it more difficult for investors to develop because these REIAs provide the links necessary for fledgling investors to start off wholesaling, for seasoned investors to rehab and lease option, and for those with properties to run them by other investors who have a buyer’s list. Another benefit of the REIAs are their vendors, they support the club and offer services such as legal, accounting, consulting but the real gem here is that these vendors are at the very least familiar with our line of business!
There are a lot of good lawyers out there, but even the best lawyers don’t know everything, the lawyers that show up at your local REIAs are the lawyers you are looking for because they have an understanding of what you are trying to do, what your business really is! Without this source you would end up spending and wasting a lot of time chasing lame referrals and making cold calls from the yellow pages to firms that don’t really have a vested interest in maintaining the kind of reputation that the lawyers at your REIA does. This spans most services and vendors you find at REIA events, take advantage of this convenience. All things considered professionals who can meet the needs of the real estate investor can be difficult to find without a REIA and a professional that is aware of the nuances of real estate investing will always be able to meet your needs better than one that doesn’t assuming everything else is equal.
Now at these REIAs you will see plenty of investors pitching their deals to each other, broadcasting their haves and their wants, and learning the same lessons as you are. Some may view fellow investors as competition as they may be the ones who are sending in offers to some of the same properties as you are, but this should be a very minimal concern and is easily made up for if you consider this idea of ‘half competition .‘
Half Competition – Where your competition isn’t strictly competition but still competition in some manner of speaking.
As investors it takes two to tango, every seller needs a buyer and buyer needs a seller and everyone will sooner or later end up in this split. We are all competing in the same pool of properties where we’re making our offers for the lowest acceptable price from motivated sellers, banks, what have you. A majority of the investors in this field are looking to either wholesale to another investor to let the other investor do what they will with it.
On the other side of the coin all investors need to have an evolving buyer’s list, not should have, they NEED to have. The more investors as a whole put their feelers out there for to keep their buyer’s list health and the more investors push for investor discounts as a whole with motivated sellers the healthier our business environment is... stocked with opportunity for those willing to get in the mix and contribute. So your ‘competition’ is just as much your allies if not more than they are your ‘competition.
Your business may work if you choose to do everything yourself in a vacuum by buying properties at a discount, running the rehab project yourself, and then attempting to retail it yourself but for most this is an inefficient model when you begin to consider all the advantages that collaborating with your fellow investors has to offer.