...estate agent or appraisal? Keeping in mind we rely on my salary.

Boy, this is the wrong time to start a career in Real Estate. Sales are down due to the lending problems...lots of Realtors are leaving the profession as it is so crowded and no one is buying like they used to. It folows that appraisers aren't in demand either....

I am in real estate school right now and have to warn you, the market is so bad I don't suggest either.

If you decide to go for it though, you are better off starting with your real estate license because to become an appraiser here in Indiana you not only need to know what is taught in that class but you will need an appraisers class as well as being an apprentice. It is really hard to find an appraiser to take you under their wing since you will be competition for them. This is exactly what my R. E. teacher said just last week.

Once you get your R. E. license, you can work a year under a broker then get your brokers license. Once you have both, take a class in mortgage/financing. This last few months has been really hard on that industry with over 40 major players going under. The job market there is tight as heck but soon enough, the government is doing a bail out to help but by that time many of the workers will have moved on.

Congrats on the new baby!

As a business owner, my suggestion to you is to do a great deal of research for your area before jumping in. They say on average it takes 3 months for you to make your first sale and the yearly average is 8.5 sales. If you are in a ballooned area, watch for the pop!


Last thing, think about buying HUD homes and fixing them up then carrying the mortgage. Many peeps these days can't get conventional mortgages or keep them! If you carry the mortgage yourself, you can build equity then expand. The draw back is this takes quite a bit of time to pan out.

I have sold nearly 80 houses in the last 3 years for a company that does this. I work mainly on down payment fees and it has been worth it.