How to approach 1st property purchase (Austin, TX)

[Austin Adams]

Hey BiggerPockets,

I recently received pre-qual letters from two lenders and am now aiming to purchase my first property prior to June 2020.  My plan is to househack a single-family home (Austin, TX).  The area has been getting more and more expensive the past few years so looking into new builds about ~20-30 mins outside of downtown.  Being 26 I understand sometimes you may need to bite the bullet on location for the first property.  Although Austin is developing farther out so fortunately could really benefit in the long-term.

For those of you whose first property was a single-family househack, what would you do differently or what would you pay more attention to if you could do it again?  Or for those who elected to go a different investment strategy their first go-around, I'd value additional perspective as well.  Also any questions you'd be asking yourself would be a big help too.

Additional context:

- buy and hold w/conventional 5% loan;

- refinance w/in ~24-months > move and repeat process

Thanks in advance!

Austin