I am in Leominster but Hudson is within the reach of the territory that I keep an eye on.  

I think that @Ben Leybovich has some interesting articles on that subject (we have some interesting debates) and we (I work at BiggerPockets) have a book for sale that offers some advice on Buying Real Estate with No and Low Money Down.Basically, you are going to have an uphill battle at the outset here, given the home purchase, the car loan, and the nontraditional income stream that comes with the territory of being an agent.That said, you also have the opportunity to live and breathe real estate in your community, and there will likely be some awesome long-term advantages to that as you pursue investing down the line.

I'm not a fan of contingencies, but definitely see value in getti g hem when I'm walking down unfamiliar territory like this.  

You're stepping in to securities territory there so be sure to consult a securities attorney before making any serious moves.

Is it a bad idea to invest in notes with the market heading into higher territory?

I actually got the following:First Hawaiian Bank - $25k (intro period APR at 3.6% if you sign up with the Priority Checking Account plan - also have my HELOC here)American Savings Bank - $50k at 13.75% APRBank of Hawaii - $20k at 10% APRCentral Pacific Bank - $25k at 10% APRI got declined at Territorial Savings because I waited too long to apply and then got a number of questions why I had so many lines opened recently...they didnt buy my "home improvement" excuse, haha.  

Hi Antoine, That is a familiar problem I hear far to often in my farming territory of Northern NJ.

I am not high-frequency trader type by nature, with "balanced" risk/performance views if to be characterized by wall street terms... my goal to be equal or above 8% yield (really want to say 10% :)) while learning notes, hopefully getting into riskier assets with time (NPN) and getting into 15-18% territory within 3-5 years. 

The big sharks came in and attacked the prey who wondered into an unfamiliar (Financial) territory.

That is all lawyer territory.