Greenville, South Carolina · First Thursdays, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Bring what you have.
Leave with what you want.
A monthly room where Upstate investors put property, cash and notes on the board and structure exchanges together.
Who’s at the table each month
A session isn’t one buyer and one seller. Property holders, cash investors, and note holders each bring what they have, and the room structures exchanges around what each one wants.
Property holders
Rentals, land, and tired landlords ready to restructure. Bring the property you hold and the position you'd rather be in — the room shapes the trade around both.
Cash investors
Capital looking for a structured home. Cash becomes a leg in exchanges the room designs — with the other parties and their goals visible from the start.
Note holders
Turn paper into property or liquidity. A note is equity too — it can be a leg in an exchange, not just a payment stream you wait on.
Inside a session
Watch a deal come together.
A live transaction, worked out in the room at a GEMS session. 42 seconds — turn the sound on.
Filmed at Trailblazer Brokerage by Juan Soto.
The arc of a session
Request an invite
Ask to sit in on the next monthly session. A member follows up with the details.
Bring what you have & what you want
A property, cash, or a note — plus the outcome you're after. Both go on the board.
The room structures the legs
Members work the board together, connecting haves and wants into multi-party deal legs.
Close with your own advisors
Take the structure to your attorney, CPA, and intermediary. The room proposes — you and your advisors decide.
Walk in with one deal. Walk out with offers.
This is what the room does. A member puts a package on the board — what they have, what they want. Then everyone works it. Drag the handle to see the same board after the session: eight written offers, each with a name on it, none of them a lowball.
12-unit apartment building
- Value
- $1.4M
- Equity
- $600K
- NOI
- $118K
Wants
Land in the Upstate, or cash plus paper.
12-unit apartment building
- Value
- $1.4M
- Equity
- $600K
- NOI
- $118K
Wants
Land in the Upstate, or cash plus paper.
Offer 1
All cash — close in 30 days.
a member
Offer 2
Trade: 40 acres in Pickens plus $150K boot.
a member
Offer 3
Buy it; you carry a $300K note at 7%.
a member
Offer 4
1031 buyer — must close by March.
a member
Offer 5
Master lease with an option to buy.
a member
Offer 6
Swap for a free-and-clear duplex in Greer.
a member
Offer 7
JV: I fund the rehab, you keep 40%.
a member
Offer 8
Wrap the existing loan, $100K down.
a member
Illustrative package and offers — the real ones stay in the room. Offers on the board are proposals; you and your advisors decide.
How the board works
Your host
The room is run by an award-winning exchangor.
Jason Dillard has been investing in the Upstate for 25+ years. GEMS works the way the Society of Exchange Counselors has worked nationally since 1961 — and Jason is one of the Society's own honorees and instructors.
- Clifford Weaver AwardSociety of Exchange Counselors · 2020 and 2022
- Jack Hunt Excellence in EducationSociety of Exchange Counselors · 2023
- Authorized instructorS.E.C. Education Foundation · Paper On Steroids, and Present vs Potential using Options and Trades
Each links to the awarding body's own page.
Why it's different
A typical meetup vs. GEMS
A typical investor meetup
GEMS
A speaker talks. The room listens.
The room works the board together.
Business cards and small talk.
Everyone brings an “I have” and an “I want.”
One buyer, one seller at a time.
Multi-party exchanges — property, cash, notes and 1031 money in one deal.
Deals mentioned in passing, then forgotten.
Every deal is posted on the board before the session and stays there after.
Follow-up by email chains.
Offers, messages and matches live on gemsrei.com.
Pay at the door to find out.
Your first two sessions are free.
This is what the room looks like
Investors, lenders and licensed professionals in one room for a morning, working each other's positions on the board. Hosted by Jason Dillard. Powered by Trailblazer.
GEMS at a glance
Monthly
One working session, every month
$20
A session — or $220 for the year
25+ yrs
Jason Dillard has hosted and invested in the Upstate
One working session a month in Greenville, South Carolina, hosted by Jason Dillard of DHP Real Estate. Powered by Trailblazer.
Every session starts with wants
Each member opens with two short lists on the board. I have — a property, cash, or a note. I want — the position that would actually improve things. The room structures the legs around the second list, because the wants shape the trade.
Greenville, South Carolina
First Thursdays. Every month.
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM at Trailblazer Brokerage, 3795 E North St — upstairs. Your first two sessions are free.
- NOV5Next session
- DEC3Thu
- JAN7Thu
Photo: Liberty Bridge at Falls Park, Antony-22, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Who we work with
Pull up a chair at the next session
Your first 2 sessions are free — no invitation needed. Tell us you're coming and a member will send the details. Bring a deal to present, or just sit in and see how the room works.
First 2 sessions free · No invitation needed · Bring a deal or just listen