How To Start A Successful Association
How to Start A Successful Real Estate Investment Association
1
National Real Estate Investor’s Association
How To Start A Successful Association
Table of Contents
Introduction
National REIA:
The History, The Necessity, and the Future
The Birth of National REIA
The Future Looks Rosy
Part One:
Getting Started
WHY A REIA?
HOW TO REIA?
What is a Mission Statement?
Why your group should have a mission statement, even though developing, committing to, and sticking with one is a huge pain in the butt
Making a Mission Statement
What should your mission statement look like?
Mission: Possible
Sample Mission Statements
DISCLAIMERS
SAMPLE DISCLAIMERS
Greater Dayton Real Estate Investors Association - Dayton, OH
Real Estate Investors of Nashville - Nashville, TN
Western New York Real Estate Investors - Buffalo, NY
Real Estate Investors of Lancaster - Lancaster, PA
Real Estate Association of Puget Sound - Seattle, WA
Empire State Real Estate Association, Inc. - Albany, NY
Metropolitan Real Estate & Investors Association, Inc. - Cranford, NJ
Real Estate Investors Association of Cincinnati - Cincinnati, OH
Connecticut Association of Real Estate Investors, Inc. - Hartford, CT
Diversified Investors Group (DIG) – Philadelphia, PA
Realty Investment Club of Houston (RICH) - Houston, TX
Part II
Writing The Rules
OFFICIAL RECOGNITION
SAMPLE BY-LAWS TEMPLATE
ARTICLE I
DUTIES OF OFFICERS
ARTICLE II
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
ARTICLE III
MEMBERSHIP
ARTICLE VII
PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
ARTICLE VIII
INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
ARTICLE IX
ORDER OF BUSINESS
REIA OF BERKS COUNTY
ARTICLE 1
NAME AND OBJECTIVES
ARTICLE 2
MEMBERSHIP
ARTICLE 3
MEETINGS
ARTICLE 4
ELECTIONS
ARTICLE 5
DUTIES OF OFFICERS
ARTICLE 6
VICE PRESIDENT
ARTICLE 7
RECORDING SECRETARY
ARTICLE 11
MISCONDUCT OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
ARTICLE 12
CHARGES AND TRIALS
ARTICLE 13
APPEALS
ARTICLE 14
AMENDMENTS
GEORGIA REAL ESTATE INVESTORS ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE I.
NAME AND MISSION
ARTICLE II.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
ARTICLE III.
MEMBERSHIP
ARTICLE IV.
GOVERNANCE: GENERAL GUIDELINES
ARTICLE V.
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
ARTICLE VI.
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS
ARTICLE VII.
GENERAL BOARD MEMBERS
ARTICLE VIII.
MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ARTICLE IX.
GENERAL MEETINGS
Empire State Real Estate Association
ARTICLE I.
NAME AND MISSION
ARTICLE II.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
ARTICLE III.
MEMBERSHIP
ARTICLE VIII.
GENERAL MEETINGS
ARTICLE IX.
REVENUES
ARTICLE X.
USE OF THE ASSOCIATION PLATFORM AND MEMBERSHIP DATA
ARTICLE XI.
DISCLAIMERS
ARTICLE XII
BY-LAWS
REAL ESTATE INVESTORS ASSOCIATION OF CINCINNATI
ARTICLE I.
OFFICERS
ARTICLE II
MEMBERS
ARTICLE III.
MEETINGS OF MEMBERS
ARTICLE IV.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
ARTICLE V.
OFFICERS
ARTICLE VI.
COMMITTEES
ARTICLE VII.
CONTRACTS, CHECKS, DEPOSITS AND FUNDS
ARTICLE VIII.
MISCELLANEOUS
ARTICLE IX.
AMENDMENTS
ARTICLE X.
INDEMNIFICATIONS
FOSTORIA AREA LANDLORDS
ARTICLE I
NAME AND LOCATION
ARTICLE II
PURPOSE OF THE LANDLORDS
ARTICLE III
CODE OF ETHICS
ARTICLE IV
OFFICERS
ARTICLE V
MEETINGS AND QUORUM
ARTICLE VI
ELECTION OF TRUSTEES
ARTICLE VII
MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
ARTICLE VIII
AMENDMENT
BRAZOS VALLEY REAL ESTATE INVESTORS ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE ONE
NAME
ARTICLE TWO
NONPROFIT CORPORATION
ARTICLE THREE
DURATION
ARTICLE FOUR
PURPOSES
ARTICLE SIX
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ARTICLE SEVEN
INCORPORATORS
ARTICLE. I
NAME
ARTICLE II
PURPOSES
ARTICLE III
MEMBERSHIP
ARTICLE IV
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ARTICLE V
OFFICERS
ARTICLE VI
NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS
ARTICLE VII
RESIGNATION FROM OFFICE AND VACANCIES
ARTICLE VIII
INDEMNIFICATION
ARTICLE IX
MEMBERSHIP DUES
ARTICLE X
PROGRAM MEETINGS
ARTICLE XI
INVESTMENTS
ARTICLE XII
AMENDMENTS
PART THREE:
TAXES AND BOOKEEPING
PART FOUR:
PLANNING AND SCHEDULING
PLANNING GUIDE
Scheduling
CHECKLIST FOR MEETINGS
PUBLICITY
ROOM
AGENDA
GETTING ACQUAINTED
WHAT ARE THE GROUPS TO DO?
OVERVIEW
BRAINSTORMING
PUBLISHING DATA
PRIORITIZING DATA
DISCUSSION AND TASK ASSIGNMENT
FUN ACTIVITY
EVALUATION
BOOK KEEPING
RECORD KEEPING
THE JOURNAL......
Part Five
Building the Perfect Board
The Secrets of a Successful Board
Where have all the candidates gone?
Getting on Track and Staying There
Repair and Maintenance of Your Board
Didn't Your Mother Teach You to Say "Thank You?"
What Successful Leaders Share
WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
Points of Leadership
Leadership Credibility
Volunteers, Committees and Assignments
Delegation
KEY POINTS TO DEVELOPING AS A DELEGATOR
TENCOMMANDMENTS OF HUMAN RELATIONS
BOARD RESPONSIBILITIES
BOARD MEMBERSHIP ....
Part Six
Publicity and Recruitment
HOW TO GRAB NEW MEMBERS
RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS
ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF EXPERIENCED MEMBERS
FOLLOW UP LETTER
FOLLOW UP LETTER
Part Seven…………………………………………………………………………………………..112
Association Survey…………………………………………………………………………….. 113
Ideas, Ideas, Ideas……………………………………………………………………………….114
Speakers………………………………………………………………………………...…….…116
How To Choose A Speaker…………………………………………………………………..….117
How Not To Choose A Speaker…………………………………………………………………118
How To Avoid Getting Burned…………………………………………………………………119
Sample Speaker Agreements……………………………………………………………………120
Letter to Speaker………………………………………………………………………………..134
Thank You for Agreeing to Speak Letter……………………………………………………….135
Thank You for Speaking Letter………………………………………………………………....136
Membership Participation Form………………………………………………………………...137
1
National Real Estate Investor’s Association
How To Start A Successful Association
1
National Real Estate Investor’s Association
How To Start A Successful Association
Introduction
National REIA:
The History, The Necessity, and the Future
Picture, if you will, the United States in the mid and late 1970s. A former peanut farmer sat in the oval office. Platform shoes and leisure suits ruled the fashion runways. Disco music was everywhere; gasoline was difficult to come by; Leonardo Dicaprio was still chowing down on strained carrots. And the real estate market was going wild.
All at once, anyone with a little cash, some rehabbing skills, and a few creative financing techniques under their belt could buy a small investment property and make big bucks. FHA and VA loans were still freely assumable, double-digit inflation made it almost impossible not to make money, and the tax advantages were spectacular. Suddenly, real estate investment was accessible to "the little guy", not just to the wealthy. And the little guy took big advantage of this new opportunity. New real estate millionaires from all walks of life were popping up everywhere.
Also popping up everywhere were real estate seminars. Taught by legendary speakers like Jimmy Napier, John Schaub, Jack Miller, and numerous others, these seminars were valuable in that they allowed students to learn the business from experts rather than from expensive mistakes. Many of these speakers traveled from town to town, spending a weekend in each location and then moving on. It was from these events that the first real estate investment associations were born
Students left the seminars with tons of great information, but more importantly, they left with a motivated, optimistic attitude about real estate investing. The more enlightened new investors in each city realized that the only way to continue to increase their knowledge and stay "pumped" about their business was to meet regularly with others who shared their goals, dreams, and interests. These leaders gathered others who came together on a monthly basis to network (although, of course, no one knew that word at the time) and to hear new information from local and national experts. As time passed, these groups became more and more organized; many incorporated, elected boards of directors, became politically active, negotiated on behalf of their members for vendor discounts, and even spun off other groups. Still, something was missing.
By the time the mid-80's rolled around, these scattered groups were becoming more aware of each other. As leaders of local associations met at various conferences and events, they realized that they were each fighting the problems within their groups with varying degrees of success. Group "A" was be great at recruitment, but couldn't figure out how to retain old members. Group "B" retained members on their roles for years, but didn't know how to get discounts on products that members wanted. Group "C" had dozens of vendor discounts, but wasn't sure how to fight city hall. And on it went. These leaders, being the forward thinking individuals that they were, quickly realized that a nationwide network of groups existed that could help each other become larger, more successful, more influential organizations.
In the mid 1980s, a visionary leader named Thom Hennigan called a meeting of association directors in Orlando, Florida. The objective of this meeting was simply to exchange ideas for the betterment of all of the groups. The results, however, were awesome. Through the synergy of the group, many of the "insurmountable" problems faced by some local associations were overcome. Ideas were traded day and night, and every leader went home with great new plans and strategies to grow and improve their groups. It was decided that a similar conference should be held each year, and so the concept of a national real estate investors association, the National Real Estate Investors Association, was born.
1
National Real Estate Investor’s Association
How To Start A Successful Association
The Birth of National REIA
While the mission of local associations is to educate members to become better real estate investors, the national association's vision was something altogether different. From the very beginning, the national group's objective was to teach leaders how to make this educational mission happen.
The National Leadership Conference (NLC) was the first incarnation of National REIA. Its successor organizations, Real Estate Leadership Association of America (RELAA), continued with the annual Orlando winter leadership conference and instituted mid-year regional conferences. These meetings continued to promote friendship, sharing of ideas, and training of leaders. Even though the RELAA conference was held in one of the nation's top vacation spots, this was no time for fun in the sun! Meetings were held from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., then the leaders spent the evenings together networking and sharing some more. Topics like "the value of a member", recruitment and publicity, dealing with vendors, how to maintain a lending library, publishing excellent newsletters, and others added to each groups' arsenal of ideas. Local associations who sent representatives to these conferences prospered and grew, even as the economy and new regulations of the mid and late 80's caused the bottom to drop out of the real estate market in many areas.
In 1994, RELAA became National REIA, the National Real Estate Investor's Association. National REIA continued and expanded the mission of teaching leaders how to lead. Most member groups sent only 1 or 2 directors to the conferences, but many groups helped defray the cost to the attendee because of the amazing volume of great information they brought home. By the early 1990s, the annual National REIA conference was attracting an average of 100 leaders from 40+ groups around the country. With the addition of new groups, the body of knowledge from which leaders could draw expanded until it seemed there was no problem that a group couldn't solve by simply bringing it to the attention of others.
In 1997, the board of directors of National REIA took the bold and controversial step of moving the winter leadership conference from its traditional Florida home to the open sea. The first National REIA cruise combined the usual leadership training with down-to-earth real estate education by some of the top speakers in the United States. Over 200 association directors, investors, and their families enjoyed seven days of fun and education in the Eastem Carribean. So well received was the '98 cruise that it has become an annual event, and will no doubt continue each year for the foreseeable future.
For those leaders that can't attend the cruise, National REIA reinstituted the practice of holding a mid-year land-based leadership conference in 1998. The first of these was held in Las Vegas, subsequent mid-year conferences have been held throughout the country to make it convenient for as many groups to attend these events. The three-day format allows ample time for networking, training, and taking in the sights.
The Future Looks Rosy
With many of the problems inherent in running an all-volunteer, nationwide, non-profit
Organization ironed out, National REIA is ready to move into the 21st century. Plans are in place to
reach out to the 1000+ local groups in the United States to bring more directors with more great ideas to the yearly conferences. An extensive manual on how to organize new local associations has been written. A sister guidebook on growing and maintaining existing groups is also on the presses. New benefits, such as a directory of national speakers and national discounts on appliances, title searches, and health insurance will soon be available to member groups. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal's Smart Money Magazine attracted over 2000 calls from investors interested in joining local associations. And National REIA has taken hired an Executive Director and established a permanent office facility.
The challenges facing local real estate associations are changing all the time. As an example, many groups are finding themselves forced to deal with unfavorable legislation at the local, state, and federal levels. National REIA is organized to help meet these and similar problems faced by member groups. By creating a network that includes national political, housing, apartment, and Realtor organizations, National REIA is working with groups that have similar interests to share resources and exchange information.
If your local association could benefit from the knowledge, training, referrals, discounts, and nationwide influence offered by the National Real Estate Investors Association, why not join today? And if you are a potential group leader without a group, joining National REIA can help you put together a thriving, valuable organization anywhere in the United States.
National REIA exists to serve organizations like yours. We need your support and membership to continue to provide the great benefits that are only available through the clout of a nationwide association of associations. Call National REIA at 1-888-7NAREIA, or visit us on the Internet at for more information and a membership application form. We hope to see you at our next meeting! Join us!
Adapted from a history by Michael Rodetsky (rev. 10/2002)
1
National Real Estate Investor’s Association
How To Start A Successful Association
Part One:
Getting Started
WHY A REIA?
From past experiences many association members will agree that, by belonging to a professional business association, their understanding and management of their business got better.
It is a fact that one of the fastest way to build any business is by having the right contacts. Without saying too much, where you can find the right contacts if it is not through some sort of club or association. People that belong to associations have influence, have power, have knowledge, and best of all, understand that their empowerment come from networking and sharing information with others without considering other business opportunities that may arise from such associations.
HOW TO REIA?
Association founders and business experts alike advise keeping things simple. We present you several choices to choose from, or to make a combination of them. Many clubs or associations start very informally over regularly scheduled Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner at Dennys. Or you can have a more elaborate Non-Profit or For-Profit Corporation meeting regularly at the Hilton Hotel. The whole idea is to talk to other people involved in the same business that you are in, with the purpose of sharing information, experiences and even contacts for your benefit to do better your job.
Just like selling products or services to customers, there must be immediate benefits for members. It's as simple as identifying a need and meeting it. In short, make it easy, worthwhile and fun to join. Part of that is keeping dues as reasonable as possible. The amount should be based on expenses- meeting room, office equipment, material, printing, postage, telephone, website, and the like. For instance, in 1997 the Realty Investment Club of Houston (R.I.C.H.) charged $100.00 per couple a year; and Brazos Valley Real Estate Investors Association (B.V.R.E.I.A.) charged $60.00 per couple per year. The RICH club charged more because it needed a lot of revenue to produce and mail newsletters and to service a group of 400 plus people, on the other hand BVREIA is a small group of around 30 members and usually has sponsors to cover some of the meeting costs.
Note that costs do increase, and member’s dues will eventually need to be raised. In 1999, after more than 12 years at $85 per couple, DIG, the Diversified Investor Group in Philadelphia, raised dues to $115 for a basic membership, and $165 for a family membership to service its 350 members because its obligations had increased.
Whether your goal is creating a regional or national group, heed the following advice of successful Real Estate Investors Association founders:
- Prepare a Mission Statement. The mission statement will give you a clear idea of the association’s objectives.
- Departing from the mission statement, prepare a business plan outlining achievable goal, explaining benefits, the purpose and long range objectives. (You will see samples throughout the next sections of this book)
- Promote the group by highlighting its unique features. Clearly distinguish it from competing groups, such as your Real Estate Board association and Apartment Owners associations, just to mention a few.
- DELIVER-WHAT-YOU-PROMISE! Bold, Hyphenated, and highlighted, because this is one of the major reasons some associations come and goes.
- Run your organization as you would run your business, not a hobby.
- Avoid internal politics and bureaucracy.
- Plan programs and events six months to a year ahead to keep members excited and boost attendance.
- Invest time in promoting the association. An inexpensive strategy is sending local radio stations and newspapers press releases several weeks before an event (as you will see in some samples in this book).
- Involve members in all aspects of running the association, volunteers are the heart of any association.
- Publish a newsletter, even if it’s only a page announcing the next meeting. Your members need the reminder each month.
- Promote your group on the Internet, list your group on as many of the Real Estate related sites as you can find.
- Build your own website if you can afford it. In today’s environment, it will pay dividends in building membership as people locate you on the Internet.
Everyone benefits from a well-run association. For members, there is the chance to talk shop with other real estate investors and professionals. For founders, there is the constant challenge and gratification of building and organization with a potentially far reaching impact on the business community at large. And for all, there is a chance to help other real estate entrepreneurs.