You can always start off in real estate by acquiring a property as a primary residence.

I own the home but I do not live there as my primary residence. 

A lot of options around the area with STR / MTR, traditional long-term rentals, or section 8.

It's supposed to be our primary residence so we are running out of time to move in since we should move in by Nov 1st.I was thinking about changing just the basement plumbing to copper and waiting till I renovate the rest of the units to change their piping as well.

My primary objective is to buy something within a few hours of residency.

This structure lets you leverage rental income to qualify, without needing traditional income verification, making it an excellent option for building/scaling your portfolio.

Since you'll be able to put less down on the primary you should still have plenty of cash to buy another single family home as a rental. 

Aside from all of the systems that lenders use to find undisclosed debt, one of the questions you'll be asked on the URLA/1003 (the application required for all primary residence mortgages) is basically "Are you responsible for any debt besides what we have already found?"

Texas: The New Frontier of LuxuryTexas, traditionally associated with large ranches and rural properties, has begun to stand out for its luxury offerings in rapidly growing urban cities.

So, if interest rates are a buyer’s primary roadblock, then I recommend negotiating a rate buydown at a seller’s expense or looking at new construction, where builders are offering rate reductions and other substantial incentives.What if I’m a seller?