However, there's one case that says you're allowed to enter the property, change the locks, and renovate it if the property is vacant and uninhabitable to begin with. 

Yes, you want to lock in with an investor-friendly agent in the Houston area so you can maximize your learning curve and couple it with proximity to your family.

"If someone were to rent out part of an existing dwelling unit in a way where members have limited rights to use the common spaces and don’t have access to the other rooms—for example using external locks to separate the home into different areas—that would constitute an illegal conversion,...You will also need to update your insurance policy.

The in-place plumbing will overkill, so if over time you lock and shut down a couple bathrooms (so you have less to maintain), whatever. 

ask, I assume cheap its a war zone)  reno, and lock box ?

Really appreciate the words of wisdom and you sharing the challenges others have faced so I can learn from their experiences.I'm probably putting the cart before the horse here given I still have a lot of educating myself to do, especially across market analyses to lock in my strategy, until I feel fully prepared to move forward with anything.

We are looking at 40% down borrowing non-recourse with only a 20 year lock.

Insurance premiums, property taxes etc increase CAN impact cashflow, but in typically small ways and ARE PREDICTABLE because these costs are typically locked in for a year at a time!

Even with all that thats why you have title insurance for land lock situations etc. 

HELOC rate's can hover between 7-10 % pending underwriting so you'd be locked in temporarily with a payment.