Sure the sale failed, that's a pain, but $50k windfall was pretty nice, no wear and tear like collecting rent anyway.As someone who has a deal that the buyer got a bank commitment, and all other contingencies met, had my house locked up for 2.5 months, they backed out due to accepting a job in FL and wanting to move.

If you are going to consider this as a possibility, before make any commitments, I think you should see a therapist-- especially if you hope to maintain a healthy relationship with your family.

They are both completely different, require different skill sets and education, require different time commitments, etc. 

I personally took the classes to get a license and was planning on actually completing my license, (though never did because I moved to CA), in MA for a few reasons. 1) The cost was low, I think I only paid about $400 for the course.2) The time commitment was low, you only need to complete 40 hours of instruction.3) If I wanted to get a license, I could do so and hang it with a broker simply to help myself with my own process of accessing the MLS and being more self sufficient.Having completed the course I can tell you that you will learn nuances to real estate that you didn't already know. 

I have a letter of commitment for purchase of the existing house at 130k and a national builder that's wants the five remaining lots at 33k each.

Every step along the way, however, you are going to be asked to 're-up' your commitment levels, possibly raise additional funds, etc - and if you don't have the credibility, capabilities, cahoonas, whatever...... 

I'm highly committed, but I feel as if I lack direction.

@John FedroYes, definitely agree about not doing anything sneaky, just more so committed to finding creative solutions for deals.

It certainly would be a good way to get our feet wet in renting before we commit to a long term lease. 

The only way the landlord would not qualify would be if they had committed fraud against HUD in the past and were banned from the program.