(Editor’s Note: I’m extremely excited to announce a new contributor to Rain City Guide. Eileen Tefft is a Managing Partner with Ltd Real Estate and has over two decades of experience in the real estate industry.)

Hello Rain City Guide community,

This is a first for me. First post, first time ‘published’. I’m excited and feel it’s about time I got into blogging as a way to share information to readers interested in real estate. As a kid, my parents bought and held real estate as an investment. My uncle was a contractor, my grandfather a carpenter… In fact, my dear 82 year-old mother was still hanging off rafters, pounding in 2X4’s in her 60’s (she still would be if someone needed a rafter built! Today she’s cutting down trees with her new chainsaw!). I bought my first property when I was 22 and subdivided it at 32. It was fun and it felt natural.

I got 3 calls this week from past clients wanting to begin buying real estate as an investment. After several hours of discussions, I decided to write about the nuts and bolts of my experiences, the mistakes I’ve made and where I found the most success.

There seem to be two types of investment buyers. One that wants to ‘flip’ real estate (turn a quick profit by buying low and selling high) and one that wants to purchase and hold for the long term. I will address the first question here and save the second for another post which will include buying for cash accumulation vs. buying for a positive cash flow, buying using 1031’s and buying using Self-Directed IRA’s.

So, let me start first with the question I get asked most… “How can I buy a house, fix it up, make a profit, quit my job and live off the real estate returns like I’ve seen on T.V.?