Newbie with reservations! Comments welcome

[Paul Gage]

I am a Newbie (sort of) from High Point, NC.  Ran manufacturing businesses for 30 years and did fairly well.   "Semi-retired" and looking to put some cash to work.   While I got really excited about real estate at first, I am finding that the returns come with a great deal of work and when you consider the time needed to be successful, I am not sure it is worth it.   I am actually more intrigued lending hard money as this seems to be more lucrative with less hassle.   Would love to "buy and hold" or flip some properties, but can't really make the numbers work when considering the time it takes to manage this.  I don't want another job with headaches like poor tenants (I have read the books about how to get good tenants, but this is not fool proof) and mtc. problems.  Comments would be welcomed.