earthquakes are a non issue here really as far as major property damage.  

Keep in mind the majority of my projects are $30K or less.

It would only require about $35k of my money, but that's the majority of my investment fund.

I put in 25k for repairs because I feel like any purchase needs something...If you have tips on what major things to look for in determining high cost repairs right out of the gate I would love to read about them. 

When this plumbing is broke, it could break anywhere along the pipe and cause major ceiling damage or flooding to the home in excess of the cost to replace with more reliable pipes.

In the Houston area, which I assume is like most major areas, there are companies that just handle short sells.  

Figuring that the majority of agents quit within the first 6 Months to a year because they don't earn enough income you are in the perfect spot of not needing alot of income since you are still in school.

Five years ago I graduated from Virginia Tech with a major in Property Management and a minor in Real Estate.

So a 50k loan at 2 points makes them 1k in fee's  that's a ton of risk for such a small loan and if it turtles you can lose half your money in that market no sweat.. that is the other major hurdle. 

I am thinking we would use the equity to put 5% down on a slightly bigger family house for us (with a basement apartment), and then use the vast majority to put 20% down on a 4-plex in a less expensive town within an hour of us.