The owner started to renovate but decided to sell it as is. 13135 Diamond Hill drive.

You can turn up the rare diamond in the rough but it takes a lot of digging. 

TBH I'm already seeing homes listed at 275K go for 300K plus and new constructions going over 310-320K...assuming you are from Bay Area ...so think of North Austin (RR, Leander, pflugerville) as your typical South Bay areas and SE Austin areas (DV, Manor, Elgin) as the next upcoming Fremont/Dublin..I feel several parts of SE Austin are diamonds in the dust now...risky play but high reward if you can hold for 10 years and a good tenant in place..

At least the Nigerian dude selling me ownership in his diamond mine takes the time to personally call me. 

At least the Nigeran dude asking for my help moving his diamonds makes a personal call to me. 

I know as a wholesaler, many buyers LOVE that off-market aspect like it is a diamond in the rough they are finding.

Landon's right.There are plenty of deals off market and there are also some on the MLS but you need to target them correctly.I'm in San Diego so I understand your frustration but there are deals to be found.The trick is to treat your search like a diamond mine.You got to research areas.

Investor-friendly lenders take some effort to find, but once you do, they're worth their weight in diamonds. 

I'll be happy to share more when we connect this afternoon.Black Diamond is also another wonderful local group - however they have recently disbanded their meetups.

@Yonatan Weic it was a diamond in the rough.