Agent gets paid from the net proceeds unless the seller is unwilling to pay the buyer agent fee/commission, which in this case you do not have an agent; that agent would ask (if they were representing you) for the buyer/you to pay them their commission from a buyer broker agreement (if the seller was not paying commission).So it's the same difference, the seller will pay it (2%), and the agent will not come out of pocket for it.

Great opportunities to buy single family house and rent out the bedrooms.  

Understand the strengths in your market, what does well / has lower risk since you're just starting out? 

If anyone can reach out back to me I’d appreciate it

Like you mentioned, the planter boxes were already there, the gravel walkway was already there, worn out, in need of work.

Quote from @Hanna Brown: @Jay Hinrichs If the bidder at the auction pays cash for keys to get the homeowner out, does the person redeeming from the owner position (exercising rights of redemption w/in 180 days) have to reimburse them for those costs they paid to get the homeowner out? 

'You can not move it, you can not destroy it, if you move out, let me know.'

-While rent would be more expensive month by month, the idea of being able to take my equity out of my home and also being able to reduce annual repair costs, property taxes, etc. does seem appealing to me. 

There are always deals out there and Texas is experiencing a return to normal with pricing coming down and supply staying up.

Find out which filters are best for your furnace, purchase a year's worth, write the installation date on each one so the tenant knows when to swap them, and inspect regularly to verify it's happening.