Summary: Listen here or in iTunes/Stitcher! Ever wanted to know the "nitty-gritty" of real estate investing? Get a successful real estate investor's story, techniques and best practices all in one interview. We want to really extend our thanks to our friend Tim Beck for spending some of his valuable time with us. This interview is packed with information about real estate investing and this podcast gives an excellent introduction to the basics of investing in rentals and in flipping houses. "If you buy a property right, you make money the day you buy." In this podcast you will learn: 1. About how a young investor got started in the real estate/rental business. Tim's background is in business and real estate so naturally he has done an excellent job at using that knowledge to build a great real estate business. You also learn what Tim's biggest motivation for moving into the real estate business. 2. A lot of what Tim did in his early days was "flipping" properties before it was cool or honestly even a term. Eventually he did start keeping houses and renting them, but flipping was part of his business too. 3. One of the biggest factors of success in the rental business is not you, but your tenants. How to filter and reduce risk with tenants is a very important part of land lording. Every time you have a tenant turnover (especially with evictions) there can be an immense cost built into that. So keeping good tenants and finding great people to live in your properties is extremely important. Tim gives some great tips on how to do this. 4. Learn what the most time consuming and difficult part of the rental business is. Well the short answer is vacant rentals. Vacant rentals cost you money in utilities, repairs, and fixing up for the next resident. Tim tells us how to minimize the time that is consumed and the money spent on a vacant rental. The longer a property sits empty, the less rent you get, the more utilities you pay and the more vulnerable your investment is. Don't miss this segment! 5. Tim speaks directly to people who are new at investing and thinking about investing in real estate. I won't give it all away here, but his advice is certainly worth listening to. The real estate business can generate wealth like no other business but you have to keep some things in mind before getting started. 6. Buy, buy, buy should not be your motto. Be careful and be educated when you go to make your first purchases. Remember that one of the first steps to getting involved in real estate is financing. How much should you put down? How to run the numbers to make sure it's a good decision? There is so, so much more in this interview, so please have listen and let us know what you think. And once again, thanks Tim! -Austin
