We held the first coffee chat today in San Diego for the CRS members there. It was a small group but those who attended enjoyed it and the feedback was positive - the time was convenient, the location was as well, and people are glad we are getting this sort of activity going in our area. So we will continue to do so.

Chris Comer, from Pacific Capital Mortgage, spent a few minutes talking about his services, and we look forward to his continued sponsorship. We are planning to hold a similar event EACH QUARTER in the same location with Chris sponsoring and providing coffee and snacks. Hey, it's free, even if you only want the food! But come for the networking and learning, too!

We also learned quite a bit about using our Self-Directed IRA or other defined benefits plans for investing in real estate. MUNZER GHOSHEH, from Entrust, spend about 45 minutes educating us on how to do this - it was great. For more information visit their website or give him a call at 310-899-3811. I have plenty of brochures from his session and will have them at the next meeting. Or send me an email and I will mail you one.

We hope to have a variety of topis during the year, so if you have any ideas or a particular person you would like to suggest we bring in, please let me know. Right now there is strong interest in marketing ideas, so we'll see what we can do with that.

Hope to see more of you there next time - probably in May. Stay tune for updates.

Jeff