However, pricing in Austin is still substantially above pre-pandemic levels.

Looking for guidance on options. new builds aren't hard to finance and I would argue they are preferred to existing fix and flip loans, especially if you have experience. banks look at your experience, your builder's experience, loan structure, permits, etc you need to get an experienced builder familiar with advanced underwriting and negotiations with local, regional, and national lenders. in columbus we do ground up construction for clients at a 20% discount so they can BRRRR out of the new build with equity and we have pages and pages of data on what we build and why and it's all supported by market statistics. 

I would agree with Chris, I would not use debt to cover all costs and then hope to get a good pop on the sale to cover all the debt, payments and still have some in the end to make a profit to do it again.

If you catch these at the pre-foreclosure stage as slow pays or initially in default all the better as the bank has less in collection expense.You can still work out a discount but even buying at the payoff it can be profitable depending on the property value.You can practically force a lender to sell as it can fully indemnify them as a full payoff as demanded, continuing with a foreclosure becomes a rather vengeful act by the bank to punish a borrower, they don't want to go there.

We take pictures on a pre-inspection only of existing damage, which generally doesn't exist because we repair anything that happens between tenants.

I'm not against innovation but every point you raise is pre-existing or illegal/ against regulations. 

Additionally, we are digging into BLS data to compare already existing data.

Is there a pre-payment penalty?

We still owe roughly $900K on a 3% mortgage.We’re planning to retire abroad and are weighing two options:1.Sell the home – I already have a buyer lined up, so this would be a straightforward exit.2.Rent it out long-term (furnished) – While I don’t think the rent will fully cover the mortgage, it might come close.

I'd like to not "find out the hard way" if one of these sites are not a good match for me.The ones I'm considering are Propstream, Property Radar, ListSource, and PropwireSomething to note, I am looking to return to doing some wholesale deals, using criteria such as absentee owner, out of state owner, tax delinquent, vacant, liens, and pre-foreclosure..