Suggestions like driving by the houses weekly are silly, such trips serve no legitimate business purpose. 

Low cost housing is a huge motivator to change behavior and keep their housing voucher. 

They get a higher return since they are covering housing cost, have the $250k per spouse primary residence deduction in gains, is a savings account, higher leverage position, lower interest rate possible, will pay more premium for location, etc.House might be overpriced for REITs but not for home owners.  

To get started, consider focusing on house hacking in California with properties like duplexes or single-family homes with ADUs, or explore out-of-state rentals in landlord-friendly markets like Ohio or Georgia.

You would be committing mortgage fraud if you knew that you only intended to live in the house for 6 months before taking a job opportunity in another state.

Is it better to keep adding equity by doing work on the houses while I'm renting them then refinance to recover the initial down-payment to reinvest into another property or to pay down the heloc?

I have always had an interest in flipping houses because I get really excited to see run-down houses, walk through them, and come up with a design plan.

House hacking is probably your best option.

Starting your real estate journey with a house hack in Austin is a smart move, especially with its strong rental demand and appreciation potential.

I was able to get a private loan which I used to purchase the house then I used my own money to rehab the house.