The barment & clear title is basically what @Rick Baggenstoss described.

But very unlikely with W2 income and a full time job.But this is an awesome concept as you could basically collect rental income for several years and never be taxed on it due to passive loss carryforwards if those build up. 

IRC covers many of the basic of NEC. 

That said, I’m also open to other investment opportunities (especially those within a reasonable driving distance of Austin).I’d love to connect with anyone who has strong knowledge of the Austin / regional market or experience with similar investment strategies, so feel free to reach out.

Very few succeed with this model and those who do are the contractor types who are driving around in their work truck putting out fires all day.

Basically why they did that was to deter investors from purchasing locally.

Markets where you can go view properties in a day of driving or flying is a good place to start. 

I did a search on vacant properties and then did a drive-by test yesterday.

From there, we moved to FL and I found several houses by driving around or riding my bike in the neighborhood.3.

You can also check meetup.com or search Facebook for real estate investment groups, clubs, or meetings in your area.You should get a basic education of how to invest in real estate. 1.