Newbie - Apia seminars what to expect?

[turneg01]

Hi everyone

Im really new to property investment, I only have one property and wont be buying another property (3-4 years) for a little while but i do have an interest in property investing. I read books etc and have recently been thinking about joining apia.

Im in Auckland and in my early 30s

What can i expect when going to seminars?
Do people find it worth it?
How many people generally show up?
Is it like a speaker and other members just listen or are there discussions where everyone joins in?
Do people go there to network with other members?
Are you bombarded with sales pitches etc?]

Thanks in advance

[flyernzl]

Do people find it worth it?
Yes, you can learn a lot, by other peoples mistakes as well as by their successes.

How many people generally show up?
Varies. In the suburban meetings it may well be 15 or 20, in the main central Auckland meetings there can be more than 100 attending.

Is it like a speaker and other members just listen or are there discussions where everyone joins in?
Usually a speaker, but particularly in the smaller gatherings audience participation is expected and welcomed.

Do people go there to network with other members?
You do meet others. Discussions over the tea and biscuits can be enlightening.

Are you bombarded with sales pitches etc?
Not overtly.

I have only been in this game for 21 years, so I listen and learn.

[PC]

I've found APIA to be of great value.
Well run sessions and seminars for little cost.
Much better than wasting time & money with fly-by-night gurus.
Wide range of people & experience with some great war stories to be heard.
Magazine plus discounts off many useful products & services as well.

[donna]

Not sure about the seminars but the networking would be good there are some wise heads there like Andrew King.

Cheers,

Donna

[flyernzl]

. . and me

[donna]

of course and lots of PTers. However you can't beat the active discussion here on PropertyTalk to keep on track with whats going on and there's less chance of being drawn into someone else's agenda so easily. With a lot of face to face networking groups it's hard to just turn up and get good info without being constantly sold to and the PIA's have in the past fallen into that trap at times - APIA especially did around the time of Ashley Church. APIA has changed a lot since then though I've heard.

cheers,

Donna

[NovInvestor]

It would be worth it if you don't already have a network of experienced investors (3+ rentals, ideally 5+) that you can talk to readily.

Otherwise you will be just be by yourself and you may lack the motivation to keep up investing and learning.

Practical experience is something that you can only learn by either doing it yourself, or listening to pros who have been there before.

There is only so much books can teach you.

So join and start networking and learning!

PS: beware of people selling you stuff.

[Raftcomm]

I did a quick search on this exact topic and found this thread. Looks like its been a good 9 months since this thread was created. I am thinking of signing up for APIA as well and am wondering if it is still worthwhile signing up for this? I too am new to all this and would like to learn the ropes. I was just about to sign up for an annual subscription to NZ property investor but realized that the APIA membership came with it.

Turneg01, did you sign up in the end? If yes, has it been of much benefit to you?

[PC]

Have a look at events - see if anything of interest.

http://www.apia.org.nz/events

The magazine - buy one or better yet should be in the public library:

http://www.propertyinvestor.co.nz/

[Raftcomm]

Thanks for the info PC. I have since subscribed to the magazine already and had a look through their events. It does look interesting but am keen to find out from those who have attended the events and how beneficial it was for them. Have you been to one recently?

[PC]

Yep went to one recently in New Lynn about how to buy sound property.
First speaker was Building inspector, next was David Whitburn.
All good practical stuff for little cost and it's always good to having a chin wag with other PIs.

If you want to buy well the best use of your time is pounding the pavement of your area going toe-to-toe with vendors.
The meetings are tame compared to this - it gets me out of the house - something the wife is strangely quite keen on.
Unlike AA meetings - PI Anonymous - you don't have to get up and confess.

[Damap]

The national PIA's are generally excellent. Since Ashley Church was exited from APIA it has been a waste of space controlled by less than honest self interested management. This doesn't mean many of the speakers aren't excellent but the fact that a mentoring company is allowed to market to the APIA database because the president owns the mentoring company means you know they can't be trusted to be independent or unbiased. Stick with Ron Hoy Fong and avoid APIA, his stuff is great!!

[Bluekiwi]

The national PIA's are generally excellent. Since Ashley Church was exited from APIA it has been a waste of space controlled by less than honest self interested management. This doesn't mean many of the speakers aren't excellent but the fact that a mentoring company is allowed to market to the APIA database because the president owns the mentoring company means you know they can't be trusted to be independent or unbiased. Stick with Ron Hoy Fong and avoid APIA, his stuff is great!!

Yeah I call him TAS, The Apia Spammer
And there newsletters in comic form are frankly "Weird".

Still in saying that he knows his stuff and Ron was at an Apia even last month so he must like APIA still.
I wonder if its time to go back to Ron's threat "The Boom of all Booms", as its tending that way right now, just wait till immigration hits 20k.

I have rejoined APIA and been to a few meeting this year, and as its an exciting time in auckland property now, the meetings have been "Very" useful !!!

[flyernzl]

If there are problems, perceived or real, with APIA I would like to know.

I have now been elected to the APIA Board. Obviously at this early stage I do not have a handle on how the place operates, so I cannot yet offer comment.

However if you do have any constructive criticisim or suggestions for improvement, please let me know either here or through my email pvlewisnz at gmail.com

[Bluekiwi]

If there are problems, perceived or real, with APIA I would like to know.I have now been elected to the APIA Board. Obviously at this early stage I do not have a handle on how the place operates, so I cannot yet offer comment.However if you do have any constructive criticisim or suggestions for improvement, please let me know either here or through my email pvlewisnz at gmail.com

I have joined APIA again this year after being away for a couple of year.I am really enjoying it, the 2 things I didnt like were:1. The comic strip type APIA newsletters which looked really silly and made hard to read the content, but hey maybe that was just me and the comic strips were really funny (yeah right).2. DW getting hold of the database and spamming me with emails from him and from APIA for his business activities.Apart from those 2 minor things, its all brllliant stuff.