Being slightly late for our 3rd monthly REIA gathering last night proved costly for me and at the same time was quite a pleasant surprise. I walked into (actually did not get "into" the room) a full house of investors (some more seasoned than others), realtors, appraisers, and some who just wanted to know what the others and the speaker (Ken Moran of Stewart Title) was willing to share.
Keeping with our plan, it was an informal, interactive and extremely informative session of sharing. Sharing the knowledge of those who had it with those willing to acquire it. I overheard comments from the group specifically referring to the information such as; "This is Good Stuff", or "I did not realize that..", or "Where can you get that..". This type of interaction was not the only thing that suprised me about last night's meeting. The size of the group also surprised me, as well as, their extreme focus to what each who spoke had to say.
I guess its the 25 years of appraising that has forced me to guard my knowledge of data or procedures, but the most surprising of last night was the tremendous amount of free flowing knowledge, and the equally impressive reception of that knowledge.
However, with success comes its pains; the size of the group has out grown the space we have available to us presently. I believe for next month's meeting we should seriously consider moving to a larger venue. I would suggest to each who reads this blog - submit an alternative location and Marc, Skip and I will investigate the feasibility of each.
I can not wait til next meeting, I woke up this morning (my 15th wedding aniversary) and could not stop brainstorming about what St Tammany REIA could do next, and WHERE!. Great Job Marc!