I'm sure there are many more experiences where the contractor hasn't fulfilled their scope of work and gotten away with rushing the project to meet the deadline, And, I don't want to be as naive to say that I'm that 1% who can have complete quality/operational control, but I'm confident I can establish a system and hire independent inspectors to review the contractor's work. 

If so how was your experience?

For now, staying local allows me to leverage my property management experience—most of which came from working directly for family and close business associates who were property managers, contractors, and business owners.

Research them away from their reviews and see real experiences.

That process has direct lender involvement.Where the challenge lies, is when unsophisticated "investors" with no experience, no money and no reserves use creative financing (often called wrap, subto, lease option, seller financing, land contract) to purchase properties and along the way there is a "hiccup".

I would talk to some lenders  getting land loans and development loans with no experience is next to impossible starting out.. 

Asking to anyone who has experience, knowledge or connections in these southern texas markets, how has this or does it affect your real estate strategy and returns? 

If you decide to pursue this option be sure to EXPLICITLY spell out how the maintenance of the buildings will be handled as these types of facilities tend to be hard on property from my experience.

I have experience with this strategy in Arlington and Alexandria city.

I have no experience with real estate investing.