I invest just north of there in Beverly & Morgan Park but have pondered venturing south as the pirces drop.

Although I am from Utah, not Texas, I thought I would answer your questions from my point of view in hopes of giving you at least one point to ponder on:1.

Binnnnngo.The best thing to do, if you were going to ponder a route like that (which is basically the type of route that can get you towards financial freedom the best), is to talk to an investor-friendly lender and a portfolio strategist, together, to come up with a plan ahead of time so your returns and benefits are maximized.

So a couple things I'm pondering, I currently manage my own properties and don't necessarily want to sell them off though I'm a little weary of giving them to a management company and being a timezone away, though I know many people do this.  

  :)If your interest is buy and hold, read the paper I wrote for a business model linked off the 1st paragraph of my profile;  How to buy a bullet proof rental portfolio.To come closer to answering your question;   Good deals are found face to face with owners;   Go to youtube.com and put in these searches:   "door knocking",   "driving for dollars",  negotiating with sellers.Before you ponder getting a hardmoney loan and buying some deal off a wholesaler you need alot (alot) of education and an experienced fliper to look over your shoulder. 

Maybe that's oversimplifying it but the two issues you seem to be pondering are those.

@Crissinda Ponder Always start now because if you choose to start later you never will! 

I am kind of pondering whether to do VM or direct to cell phone via Google Voice (I'll take suggestions on another service like Cricket) and also whether to have a 1800 number or local number. 

Thank you for your reply, I've just been pondering it.

@John LazzariniHere’s something to ponder.