Can you really do real estate part-time? Sorry, for the long post, but I feel like I need to let you know the situation in order to get the best answers.

I've been really busy getting everything together as far as my business plan, marketing stragegy and a timeline for start-up. My husband and I just sold our house and have made some money. The original plan was to pay off some debt, but I talked it over with my husband and he was on board for me to use it to start up my real estate career.

I started as an assistant for one the top realtors in my area about eight years ago. I got licensed in 2005 after being out of the business for a couple years. I tried to do it part-time then, but it just didn't work. I didn't have enough time. I had to go back to work and quit the business. I told myself that I would only do it again when I had some back up money and could do it full-time and give it all that I could. Now that the house is sold, I feel like this is my chance! My only problem is that my husband keeps going back and forth. He tells me he's on board and then he changes his mind and says we can't afford it. I know that I need his support to do this because the first year is going to be really tough.

He says that I can only do it if I do it part-time again. My thing is - I've tried that before and I just don't think it can work! I feel like I would be wasting my time and money. Should I stand my ground and push for doing this full-time? Or, do you think I can make it part-time? I have a good plan in place and have spent a lot of time developing it. I just don't want to give up on this. There isn't much else that I have felt this strongly about and I feel very confident that I have some innovative ideas that will allow me to do very well in this business.

You could sell to anyone in 2005. This is a much tougher market than 20005 for sure.

It is an excellent time to be an investor however. Has that idea crossed your path? You can make more money without the headache. You could have instant equity and cash flow and build from there.

He has seen you crash and burn so many times he is probably tired of it. He is probably supporting you still even though he feels you have laready tried it and it didn't pan out.

You both could invest and it is fun. Just a thought for you.

Where I come from what the husband says is the law! Of course my wife is constantly breaking the law and is charge though.

For real though:

I've had extreme ups and extreme downs in this business. I could have never suceeded without her support and patience. I'll run things by her, she can care less. I run things by her and she has an opinion; sometimes we agree sometimes we dont. Sometimes WE dicide to gamble, sometimes we don't. If I win and fail, we both fail, If she wins and missed an opportunity, we both still fail. If we can't make compromise and it sparks an argument and bitterness in our marriage, its not worth it to me.

That's sad. And probably the reason I am single! I could say alot about that first sentence, but I will do my best to stay out of your marriage.

For you, the problem in business won't be your ideas, drive or effort - it will be your husband and the constant "I told you so's" that I bet you would get at every little dissapointment.

Sorry for the honesty...

For a couple of years i worked part time and found that the only way i could be able to handle clients was to team partner with another agent or two on a lot of my work.
It worked really well. Be sure and try to select a very willing person to compliment you. We both made money we normally would not have made. The partner would take over for me and i would do the same when we needed the time away. Make sure your Broker has an understanding and input on it. My broker at that time was all for it, it made her job much easier.

Super Realtor, what do you recommend as an investor strategy?

Depends on local market,class of investment,how much money you have to play with,period of hold time,and exit strategies among tax implications and many other things.

People can make money many different ways. It comes down to them understanding what they are investing in and being comfortable with the risk versus reward.

Thanks Super Realtor. Any reading material that you would recommend to get broad spectrum view?