My contractor is a skilled tradesman who won't beg me for work or give me discounts even though I told him I am an investor cry cry cry...

Active investing takes your time and some type of knowledge or skill that gives you an advantage over other investors.  

As I've observed, after a down period, the market tends to recover and show growth for approximately three years.Timing the market is a skill every real estate investor should develop.

Obviously, I need a job and want something in RE so that I'm in the loop & can learn from to apply my skills and experience towards REI. 

Gaining an understanding of the Zoning is vital to what can be built and essentially dictate how profitable the land can be.

Everyday RE investors achieve success with just basic math skills.

I don’t know why we didn’t get that vital piece of info in our initial meeting.So my wife and I are extremely relieved .She says she will stay on as a courtesy and if things come up it will just be an “ hourly “ rate for emergency type situations or basic boots on the ground necessities.We really like her enthusiasm and positivity and she is great at communicating and seems  sincerely empathetic to our situation.

I'm in a different area, but I just paid a plumber ~$200 an hour to do some work....clearly I am in the wrong profession, but I know equipment and skills are needed. 

You also need to be able to rely on project management skills to manage the project to stay on track.

I was a foster child who put myself through college on my own, and I have relied on some good friends for a place to stay as I grew up, which has motivated me to create a better life for myself.I have done a lot of research on real estate, and from my perspective, it seems as if wholesaling, which I feel my sales skills may help with, would be a good place to start to make some extra money to speed up the investing process.