. $900 seems low for a 3/1 so I think that can be pushed up. 

Your goals seem to balance future personal use with investment potential.

Seems like you're in a great financial position. 

My best  success seems to come from tenants that go to a job where they work for a company.

I don't know the Dallas market, but it seems that midterm rentals do well in the Denver suburbs here in Colorado.

In view of the fact that I'm a newbie, complete home renovations seem out of my league (for now).

I'm sure there are agents and investors with deeper insights, but for most of us, a consistent, long-term approach—similar to dollar-cost averaging when investing in index funds—seems like the most practical strategy.That being said, I am also interested to hear what others have to say though, so thank you for the post!

I thought all 30 year mortgages require only 12 months occupancy.It seems to be a lose-lose since the lender loses the interest on an otherwise good loan if it had to be sold, and they gain nothing.  

The city also seems to have many improvement plans in place to make the area more walkable and safer for citizens to freely navigate the downtown area and support local business.

When I search for a phrase it seems I get results from all forums.2.