On that note, my son Jorge is actively wholesaling properties in Katy.

There is active development happening on the street, which is a great sign.

It sounds like you want more time, so active investing such as flipping or rehabbing might not be ideal.

King of Prussia Mall will soon house Netflix House, offering escape rooms, live events, and more in an immersive experience set to open in late 2025.These entertainment-focused developments highlight a broader trend toward creating mall spaces that blend shopping, social activities, and community engagement.

Unfortunately many lenders will see this as a red flag and may not take the risk to lend you the rest of the money even if you use stated income program or bank statement program but those are for self employed borrowers who have active income from their business but write off to many expenses that when filling their taxes their net income is really low or sometimes negative.

Julie was engaged, knowledgeable, and seemed genuinely interested in what we were discussing.

This comes with time and experience but a book that helped me tremendously (not really a sales book, though) was "Boundaries" by Henry Cloud.The most common challenges for RE Agents early relate to generating leads and focusing on income producing activity.I would consider spending 50-75% of your side-hustle time on income generating activities. 

Another thing to keep in mind is to make sure you have an active income to help you have more options in terms of the strategy you will use to begin investing.

Nevertheless, it's always wise to conduct through research on any business before engaging with them to ensure your interests are adequately protected.Hope this works.

Sometimes I question whether there is some real estate investor challenge I am unaware of where investors actively try to one up one another with new ways to toss their money down the drain.