Austin was recently deemed one of the top "boomtowns" in the country based on a study by CoWorking Cafe ranking America's "boomtowns" based on population growth, GDP, employment rates, and other economic factorsFort Worth came in at No. 2 with 64 points, beating Austin in the report's ranking of top cities with a 500,000+ population.

Should I focus on paying that off first before I invest or does it make sense to start my real estate journey and use the cash flow to help pay it off faster?

First, I would echo what Ty said with the emphasis that the call you received was likely a skeezy lender just trying to get you on the phone, find out what your interest rate is, etc, and try to beat it.

When the problem persisted with my cold callers not generating many leads, I requested to downgrade my subscription to remove the cold calling service and keep the acquisition manager only which would be at a reduced cost.

I would not do any seller financing or lease to own deals as you don't want to end up with that home all beat up in five years on a default.Sell to cover your investment and if you can squeeze out a little more- great. 

If you are looking in the Midwest, to me Ohio should be at the top of your list.

STR is all they do and their pricing and coverage beats everyone by a good margin.

County recorded documents are necessary and sufficient, IMO, and until blockchain technology can show a better, faster, cheaper alternative, it is a non-starter. 

@Jimmy RojasReturns in real estate have historically matched the stock market - so use that as a reference pointJust like investing in some stocks builds wealth faster - so does real estate and vice versa

You don't need to sit in a room full of other investors, beat them to the punch.