Insight is Welcome

[Ian Funnell]

I'd really appreciate feedback with regard to whether I should move forward with investing in real estate, or to let the desire go for the time being: I'm 34-years old, married, have 2-children under the age of two, own a home, and have a stable and good paying job. I am the sole provider for our home. We have roughly $100k in equity in our home and about $25k in cash or liquid investments. My background is in building, with a degree from TAMU in Construction Science, and I'm currently a project manager overseeing new construction and remodeling of high end custom homes in Houston. Real estate investing has been an interest for over a decade, in which time I've consumer innumerable podcasts, books, and have attended boot camps and master minds.

Here's my hold-ups:

1) I do not want to put my family in financial risk. The resources mentioned previously are what we have, so if deployed on a real estate investment and things were to go sideways, that's all we have. Alternatively, if something were to arise in our life (emergency or otherwise) while this money was tied up in an investment, we're left with few good options. 

2) Time is not something I have much of. Of the 18-hours I'm awake each weekday, all but 1-to-1.5 of them are spoken for. Weekends are more flexible, with about 8-hours of available time.

3) House hacking is not an option because my folks moved across the country (in to our same neighborhood) so they could be closer to their grandchildren. It would devastate them (and us) if we moved. Furthermore, we have a less than 3% interest rate on our home, and we love were we live.

My family and I are finally getting to a position in life where we are financially secure. But working a 9-to-5 has it limits, and that's where real estate comes in. I've watched my parents reach great levels of success through real estate, and I've heard countless stories and witnessed first hand in other peoples lives the power of real estate. I believe with my background in residential construction, I'm positioned well to enter in to the space. Furthermore, I seem to have a relentless internal compass that points me in its direction.

As mentioned before, I'd appreciate your insight, even if that means holding steady the course I'm on for the time being. Many times, I'm my biggest limiting factor. My hope in bringing this to the forum is to see if I'm looking at the situation through a limited lens or if I'm seeing things clearly and just not wanting to let go. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.