Cashflow would be better found in the Midwest where homes are still cheap and rents are OK. 

They don't appreciate in value like a single family would and when you go to sell, it will likely be to another investor that wants it cheap too.

To a Californian, these would be "cheap" but not the cheapest of them all in houston so not as attractive on paper but in my view way more of a justifiable asset to invest in than the hood.

So my thought process was, to start small with cheap OOS, gain experience and than after my green card ready, move to bay area and buy 2-3-4plex to house-hack there. 

I'd try to steer you toward secondary markets in Texas (think Belton/Temple, Waco, Bryan/College Station, San Marcos, New Braunfels, etc.) over going to cheap markets in the Midwest.

@Grayson Lynum Regarding Modular, I have gone down that rabbit hole several times, and what I found it, they are not cheaper, just faster, and they look like a modular, due to the transportation limitations, the rectangle box or Prow front on mods tend to have a stigma to buyers, also many of the finishes are very low end. if you site built a very basic rectangle with the same cheap finishes most mods come with, you will be financially better off. and they are not faster, typically from order to occupancy is 6-9 months, I did my last spec in 7 mo. its just not as much work on site, the time is waiting for the factory to get to your build. good luck!

buy in Sunnyvale for 3/1 for 1.2 Mil, there's one last week sold in one dayEast bay buy in pleasanton/dublin or san leandro/haywardthe home price below 1 mil is beng taken so fast these days, you need to know when asset is cheap or not. 1.2 mil with okay condition is considered cheapooo...

I got some pictures and had someone go look at it for me and I thought surely I could make a go with such a cheap property and make it even  for wholesale if I needed it.

I plan to find and vet a small and cheap single family home that would cashflow in a traditional real estate buy and hold method (find a good deal). 2.

Word of caution, furnishing a house isn't cheap and STR management is a part-time job. 4.