Honestly if you are doing STR I would suggest doing Austin itself rather than all the way out there in Kyle - maybe a couple of years ago when the prices were through the roof in Austin city itself this would be a good alternative but there is a blip right now where you can get a god entry point in Austin (downtown/east ideally) for STR

Ideally we would love to live in my childhood home.

There's a few different ways to focus on a lower rate such as with house hacking and making the investment your primary residence, requesting a significant closing credit from the sellers for standard rate buy-downs (which I've had great success with recently), or utilizing lenders who offer short term rate lowering solutions such as 2-1 rate buy downs (again, ideally paid for by the sellers).

The low purchase price, combined with an established market demand, made this an ideal transaction for a fast turnaround and profitable outcome.

With the HELOCs now set, we are curious as the best way to approach getting pre-approved for our first property while we search for the right fit.

What will fit into your time and lifestyle?

Targeted Facebook ads or Google Ads will speak to your ideal tenants.Incentivize Referrals: If you don’t already, consider offering your current tenants a small reward for referring someone who fills a vacancy.

There are recommending screening companies on there that you can look into to see what best fits your screening needs.  

Unique pieces are great for "Flair" and individuating your property but if it fits in a suitcase and isn't fixed to the wall or floor then it will not be long for your STR.

They don't allow auto payments or automatically add late fees, and tenants would have the option to pull their payment back, which is not ideal.