We have been running the real estate investors club for over 12 years with many happy members. We do not promote any one service or person. True, we do sometimes have national speakers that sell books and tapes, but these are folks who I feel have valuable information to impart to you. If you don't spend any money for education, you will spend it in the school of hard knocks. As I always say, if you think education is expensive, try ignorance.

We are a learning and networking group that meets regularly to help our members in any way we can. It's a great place to network and to form the team that you need in order to do business. If you don't, you will be told by unknowledgeable escrow agents that double closings are illegal and other such nonsense. The wrong realtor will discourage you by insisting that you get pre-qualified. What nonsense! You need the right title company, escrow, attorney, realtor, and hard money lender. These are the people who show up at our meetings. We screen all the business members who promote their services. Any negative feedback I get will result in their being booted out.

I have been an investor for 20 years and have done it all. I started the club because that's how I got started and know how valuable attendance is.

The recent hot market has spawned some shady people who call themselves clubs but are really an excuse to get you to buy some over priced deals in cities that have already topped out.

I have thought about some of the things that these unscrupulous characters are doing that seem suspect to me and I came up with some rules to consider when deciding what is a real club and what is not.

1. 1. How long has the outfit been in business? If it's only since the market got hot - beware!
2. Do the meetings have no charge? Why would they not charge? What is their objective?
3. Are they only promoting one person's service or material? If so they are not objective.
4. Do they have a professional staff of high powered sales people? (probably from Utah) - this is not cool.
5. Do they contact you with high pressured sales pitches? Once again, they are not about teaching you, but selling you.
6. Do they constantly try to get you to sign up for more and more expensive coaching services that run $5000 and more? If so, they do not have your interests at heart. You need to buy educational materials but most don't run into the thousands of dollars.
7. Do they offer money back guarantees on all the products and seminars they sell? Lots of luck with some companies that don't.
8. Are the promoters of the club actually experienced investors who have been through both up and down markets or are they Johnny come latelies looking to make a fast buck (by the way the money is in the real estate, not running a club) .How can you educate folks ethically if you don't have the experience yourself?

There are many honest and reliable outfits and clubs that are genuinely beneficial to those looking to increase their knowledge. We always promote these people as they do for us. That's one of the good things about a club - you get to ask other people whose information is good and whose is garbage.