Find Best Real Estate Investing Events Near You

A real estate seminar is an opportunity to learn, to network, and to access reference sources that can help you grow your investment business. These conferences are presented by individuals or organizations that are sometimes compensated by collecting attendance fees and selling educational materials. Conferences for real estate investors can be industry meetups in your local area that last a few hours—2 or 3-day workshops, or major conventions held throughout the country. Seminars are usually organized into sessions where speakers address specific areas of training and instruction like wholesaling and house flipping. In addition to the seminar organizers, speakers may include professionals from other areas that will impact your business such as financing and real estate law. There are membership organizations that regularly hold investor summits and meetings for real estate investors. The Real Estate Investment Association (REIA) is a non-profit industry trade association that is active throughout the US. It is likely that there are REIA events in your town or in a city near you.

The cost of attending a real estate seminar can run from nothing to several thousand dollars. A person interested in real estate investing events should look carefully at the details of the seminar being offered to make sure that they spend their money and their time effectively. Unless it is a local investment club or trade association sponsoring the event, a free property investment seminar can be an attempt to upsell you once you are there. Events like that may not teach anything of value. The speaker may spend most of the time trying to convince the investors to pay for a better upcoming event or deluxe DVD training package. Remember, large events cost the promoters many thousands of dollars and they have to recoup their costs and make a profit somehow. Effective 2 or 3-day seminars can cost as little as $100 to $200. Some are priced in tiers from $200 to over $1,000 with each tier giving you upgraded options for training. There are real estate seminars that cost much more, sometimes up to $7,000 with additional advanced training offered that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. It’s questionable whether a program costing that much will truly give an investor their money’s worth. Seminars that teach investing fundamentals for beginners supplemented by occasional training seminars as you gain experience can be a good value if you choose carefully.

Some real estate seminars are worth the money and some are not. If you pay a lot of money for a 2-day sales pitch then you obviously aren’t going to feel like you got your money’s worth. However, if you find a property investor seminar that will teach you how to make more money, then it will be well worth the cost. Look for a seminar that fits your level of experience. If you are a beginner, you need help with the fundamentals of real estate investing. Those events often cost less, but you will probably be part of a large audience. For investors who have been in the game longer, it may be worth paying more for an in-depth curriculum and greater access to the trainers. If you pay more, you should expect smaller class sizes. Try to find out if the material being taught will apply to your local market. Some programs are so generic that their advice doesn’t conform to laws and regulations in your area. And, whether you are a veteran or a rookie, make sure you take full advantage of the networking opportunities at real estate seminars. By the way, upselling books and DVDs isn’t always a bad thing. Many of these are helpful, especially to newcomers. They can reinforce the training you received at the events if you use them. The bottom line is this: regardless of how much or how little you pay for the best seminar you can find, the value is determined by how dedicated you are to use what you learn.

Discussions about issues that affect an individual’s tax liability should always begin with the caveat that the person should consult with their tax preparer on the matter. Your CPA or tax preparer knows your particular situation and can best determine how tax laws impact you. Training seminars on how to invest are not considered an allowable investment expense that can be deducted from your taxes. This is addressed in IRS Publication 550. The reasoning seems to be tied to whether or not training relates to current business. The argument can be made that buying new investment properties is your current business, but the IRS doesn’t see it that way. If, however, the training is related to the management of investment properties that you already own, the costs may be deductible. It could come down to how much of the seminar is directly related to the management of existing properties, and the pro-rata portion of the seminar cost. You can see how complicated this could get, and the importance of seeking professional tax advice from someone who knows your investing practice.

No matter what your level of experience is, everyone can learn something new at a real estate investing seminar. The education that you receive at these events isn’t restricted to the lessons taught by trainers. Talking to other investors at the event can give you the benefit of their experience as well. Market trends can start in other areas of your state or other parts of the country. Meeting investors from other markets can give you a heads up on issues and solutions that may soon have an impact on your investing success. You should always be networking. A property investment seminar is the best place to see new and familiar faces and share information. You may come away with a new lending source, a tip on local development projects, or an additional buyer to add to your list. Before meeting new people, prepare and practice a short description of yourself and your preferred type of investing. This will help you to quickly find people with similar interests and investing goals. Make sure that you have business cards and that the contact information on them is up to date. To make the best use of your time, set down your top 3 objectives that you plan to accomplish while at the seminar. If you select the appropriate event and make the most of your time there, a real estate investing seminar can be a good use of your time and resources.

If you are just starting out you should look for local industry gatherings where you can meet veteran investors and ask them for recommendations on reliable seminars. Conferences and seminars in your city, or at least in your state will put you in touch with people who have dealt with the issues that you are most likely to face. Research the speakers who will be conducting the training sessions and who will be on any discussion panels. They should be experienced and successful in their respective fields. If you are paying hundreds of dollars or more, the seminar should be more than a few hours. Good real estate seminars will take the time to look in-depth at strategies and processes that will make a real difference to your investing. Spreading the training and discussions over several days will allow the instructors to build on previous sessions so that they can give the attendees a complete understanding of the material. Look for opportunities to access follow-up information through websites, email lists, and webinars from the presenting organization and the speakers. The chance to continue learning from the seminar experience may come with an additional charge, but it shouldn’t require you to spend huge amounts of money. A comprehensive site of information and resources for property investors can be found at HouseCashin. Among other tools that you will find is our directory providing a list of real estate investor seminars. We, at HouseCashin, have selected the seminars on their list carefully so that you can find the most reliable teachers to help you take your investing to the next level.