I also got on a call with FlipSystem with a rep, who turned out to be Antoine's girlfriend (that wasn't disclosed during the call but it's clear from the social media posts she's his gf).

This tells me two things: Obtaining a variance will be more difficult because there are already policy considerations in place intended to reduce density & (2) There is clearly an over supply of rental units in this area otherwise the overlay would not exist. 

For the 10 year period spanning October 2014-2024, single-family prices in Austin nearly doubled, yielding an annualized appreciation rate of ~9% in that period.With inflation nearing its 2% target and signs of a slowing labor market, The Federal Reserve recently made its second cut to the federal funds rate since the start of the COVID pandemic.

I’ve had the house for 6 month and I feel like there’s so much deferred maintenance that I can’t keep up, should I cut my losses and sell the house?

The standard response time is 6-8 months from cross-platform marketing, but bad marketing (will buy house for cash) without any personalization is 12 months or never.Maybe I should make a canned list with headers that I copy and paste to make it more clear. :)

-therefore, there won't be any net 'cash flow to cover rent' for years.to be clear, i say this not to say "don't invest out of state." investing out of state is fine. 

Perform the same task in each app to ensure a fair comparison.Load a property with pictures and details.Market that property.See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.Run a credit/screening report on yourself.Enter a maintenance request, assign a vendor, and attach a fake invoice.Enter charges to the tenant's ledger.Enter recurring charges and automatic late fees.Sign documents electronically.Run owner reports.After testing a few apps, one should clearly stand out.

It's clear from your post, and the limited information you put in there, that you are out ahead of your skis here.

Quote from @Tessa Tsui: You claim to have read those articles before, but you are using the wrong terminology and asking a question that is clearly answered by the resources Russell provided.

If you spend a couple years of cashflow on a new roof, that means you should be free and clear for a couple decades.