If you are borrowing $150k, rates will not likely drop enough for you to justify a refinance due to lower rates.

It starts with doing 10-20% of the work and paying much lower taxes.

As you're just starting out in Austin, focus on learning the local market, particularly areas with good rental demand and lower entry prices.

Although the list may seem intensive, I look at it like this: The total cost of all these items can be much lower than the cost to repair a hidden surprise after purchasing a property to flip. 

Should I wait for Spring for greater inventory, or for lower rates to see if cashflow improves?

Is the higher price agent inflating to get the listing or is the lower price agent just not keyed in well enough in the specific neighborhood?

I'm also considering Halethorpe because it's a good commuter location.Some people really like supporting the city in which case , northeast Baltimore would seem to the best place to buy a single family, in my opinion given the taxes situation and given that none of those areas are walkable I’d rather just be in the county and pay Lower taxes, and it’s not like northeast Baltimore is much that much cheaper than Baltimore county, hathorpe is mixed, arbutus is nice, I hate the housing stock there, would rather be in Catonsville if I was considering western Baltimore county. 

With the fund I used, they had a month where they had a few defaults, the return was a bit lower, and they sent out an email apologizing for the lower yield. 

., with lower leverage and less cash flow on a property.

As Sean above alluded to- never pay a seller for your future hard work, risk and stress.