From what I can gather, wholesaling seems to be possible, but my question is how possible (are realtors aware of the wholesaling process and/or its loopholes, or do I need to be the party knowledgeable of a certain contract's legality)? 

They did their research and found a loophole.

The pioneers of real estate investing took too big of an advantage of this loophole and the government shut it down.

Are there any covid loopholes?

That said, one warning I'll give you is that STR's are prohibited in Pinellas county and although there are loopholes, it is difficult to get around that restriction.

I now have hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in a property that the city will not issue me a CO or let me do anything with until subdivision issue resolved (after letting me pull permits for all renovations - separate issue).I have spoken with several litigators and all seem to think a variance granted by city is going to be the way out of this, but that due to a few loopholes in Georgia law, I might not have any recourse with seller for damages.I need a recommendation for a mean damn attorney that is ready to go sue the pants off this guy.

This site here and other real estate investing sites perpetrate the idea that you need to "get creative" with your investments, find loopholes, etc.

"The good news is that there are enough loopholes and exceptions in the statute that if you’re careful and smart (and, you know, have a good real estate lawyer), you can sell your house on a lease option safely, profitably, and yes – legally."

The tax treatments in TX are likely favorable to you as investor, particularly because there's no state income tax, but there are likely other loopholes you can take advantage of with proper planning, so DIY on entity formation and tax structuring could be an expensive trial and error lesson. 

Just closing a loophole where people were operating commercial businesses without the squeeze.