At age 19, Beal became a real estate investor, where he bought a house in Lansing for $6,500 and started leasing it for $119 per month. Beal became known for buying properties, renovating them and selling them. In 1976, he attended an auction of federal properties in Washington, DC and bid on an apartment building in Waco, TX. His winning bid was $217,500. Three years later he sold the building for more than $1 million. Also in 1976, he enrolled at Baylor University in Waco, TX, but left school to focus on Business endeavors.