Thank you but Katy is not near my chosen territory. 

I have not chosen a builder yet, but you bring up a great option to consider.

Now that you've had some success it is a good idea to clean up the structure of the business and continue forward on your chosen path.

That's a tradeoff I'm happy to make right now.So far we have enough saved for a down payment (possibly 2), we've chosen a turnkey provider and market, and we've lined up funding for the first deal.

You've chosen a great place to get started.

are you able and willing to spend time in person in your chosen market? 

There is also the local knowledge of a market like here in Lake Tahoe where lending can be trickier so an offer with a local lender might get chosen because they have a reputation to get a deal done vs a national lender that can have more red tape and a slower process. 

Free market is good when some chosen/special folk benefit from it.

The original agent emails me to say the sellers have chosen not to move forward and I am in breach of contract.

You can check out sites like Zillow or Redfin to see what houses are selling for and what rental prices look like in your chosen market.