Do you attend your local REIA meeting — in person or online? And when you get there, are you actually building relationships and doing business? Or are you just showing up to watch the speaker?
There's a big difference between attending an event and getting the most out of it. The investors who grow their networks fastest aren't necessarily the most experienced in the room — they're the ones who understand that the real deals happen outside the meeting room.
Here's a framework for how to do exactly that.
The Two-Step Formula for Building Relationships at REIA Meetings
Private money lender Mike Seidl puts it simply: it only takes two steps to turn a REIA event into a relationship-building goldmine.
Step 1: Get In the Right Room
Not every event is worth your time. Be intentional — find the right event, with the right leader, and the right people in the room.
Pro tip: Someone with only three years of experience in a good economy probably isn't your best mentor or connection. Be selective about whose influence you're putting yourself under.
Step 2: Get Out — and Build Relationship Capital
Once you're in, get out — out of your seat, out of the main room, and into the hallway, the dinner table, the coffee shop, wherever conversations can happen. This is where real relationship capital is built.
What Building Relationships at REIA Meetings Looks Like in Real Life
Over the course of just three days at a real estate investor conference, Mike made the following connections — all because he followed the two steps above. If you're not making at least one meaningful connection per hour-long event, there's room to level up your approach.
Lunch With a LinkedIn Capital-Raising Expert
A 30-minute lunch conversation led to a scheduled start date for education and collaboration on capital raising — far more than a business card exchange ever could have produced.
A FICO and Business Line of Credit Expert
A hallway run-in turned into Part 2 of a conversation started months earlier. Over lunch, Mike learned the average business line of credit in this expert's world is $2.5 million — and they now have a date on the calendar to work together.
A Random Hallway Connection That Led to a Deal
A stranger pulled Mike aside because a mutual contact had suggested they meet. Within minutes, they discovered overlapping business models — single family and multifamily projects across multiple states — and have a Zoom scheduled to explore working together.
The CRM Expert Sitting Right Next to Him
A conversation with the person in the next seat led to a two-day whiteboarding session at her office — and a custom CRM build. Sometimes your best connection is already sitting beside you.
A Capital Raising Platform Built Over Zoom
A five-person Zoom call with a new partner who has raised nine figures led to a confirmed in-person visit and the framework for two new websites. Remote doesn't mean transactional — it can still be relational.
Dinner With Ten Business Owners
Seated next to a well-known marketing expert at a group dinner, Mike had a deep conversation about integrating AI into private lending — and scheduled a whiteboarding session to explore it further.
Reconnecting With an Old Friend
An hour with a longtime contact who has six-plus years of experience with family offices resulted in a consulting agreement and introductions Mike couldn't have gotten cold. Long relationships pay off.
A New Connection With Tremendous Energy
Mike was introduced to a well-connected "connector" — someone he didn't know if he could do business with yet. He didn't care. In networking, energy and access matter just as much as an immediate transaction. It's a long game.
How to Apply This at Your Local MAREI or Meetup
Mike had three full conference days to work with. You may only have a few hours at your local meeting — but those meetings happen every week or every month, and you can show up every single time. Here's how to make the most of it:
- Make plans to meet someone for dinner before or after the meeting.
- Use networking time to genuinely learn what other investors do — not just collect cards.
- Take notes on each person: what they do, what they need, and why you should follow up.
- Add them to your phone on the spot and schedule a call, coffee, or follow-up before you leave.
- Talk to the people around you in the seats — not just during "networking time."
- Stay after the meeting. The best conversations happen in the parking lot.
- Come back next month and do it all over again.
Building Relationships at Virtual REIA and Zoom Events
Not every event has built-in networking, but when a Zoom event does — take full advantage. Here's how:
- Turn your camera on and participate so people see and remember you.
- Update your display name to include what you do — for example: "Kim | Property Manager."
- Give a shout-out to people in your area in the chat.
- Ask and answer questions in the chat to stay visible and valuable.
- Share your elevator pitch with contact info in the chat — keep it to three or four lines.
- Save the chat immediately after the event, then review it and follow up the same day.
The Bottom Line: Building Relationships Is a Long Game
Many of Mike's best connections from that three-day conference were people he had known for years — but had never taken the time to sit down with. Sometimes the timing wasn't right. Sometimes they didn't know enough about each other's businesses yet. But because they got out of the room and actually talked, they found common ground and put something on the calendar.
Building relationships at REIA meetings — and anywhere else — means playing the long game. Make connections with no expectation of immediate payback. Stay consistent. Show up again. Follow up. That is the path to massive personal and financial growth in real estate.
Ready to level up your investing network? Join us at the next MAREI meeting and put these strategies to work. See upcoming events →
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