I am in the middle of something similar.

A good QI will make sure all of this happens for you by coaching everyone involved; you don't need to become an expert or a middle man.  

I feel yours is overpriced unless it's smack in the middle of downtown with high-end furnishing. 

I'd suggest looking up Pace Morby and his book Wealth Without Cash. 

I get the data folks who need data for everything, I just don't get when folks need data for when things in the middle and can't be decided.

I have entered my 2nd year as an investor and I went from 1 door to 7, so I'm on pace. 

With that said, are there in cities around Austin and Dallas, where I can find a middle ground of find good properties with good cash flow in a decent neighborhood with good schools?

The sooner the better in my opinion though, there are tons of investors waiting on rates to drop before they get into the marketplace so when they do that's going to bring so much demand back into the marketplace it'll cause prices to increase at a much faster pace again.You can take advantage of the market that isn't as favorable right now and negotiate a great deal and still refinance in the next few years to help improve your position.

What is the argument vs, that inflation holds and real estate paces 0..... that is, again, an oxymoron. 

In my opinion if there is profit to be made why don't you pay a designer to furnish it and turn it over to a property manager and cut out the arbitrager middle man?