Start by reducing debt, researching Houston market trends, and obtaining pre-approved loans.

Another close friend got all this guys bank statements etc and found hundreds of thousands being wired to casinos right after he received wires.  

We are building a team in Houston and are interested in a property and do not have an agent yet. 

My primary interest lies in the Houston market, but I’m open to exploring other areas as well.So far, I’ve read The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner and am currently working through The Book on Managing Rental Properties.

And I know that the tourism infrastructure (restaurants , activities) has some catching up to do aside from the new casino that is opening up.

Set up Keyword alerts, since you're in Houston you can set up an alert for "Houston" or "first property" or even "fireman" to be alerted when someone posts on the forums that may be relevant or interesting to you!

If  you are in the 20% range, you are better off going to the casino and putting all of your money on black and seeing what happnes.Since you are out of the area properly calculating cash on cash returns can be difficult because you have variable expenses to calculate. 

I am in the Houston area and my primary goal is to become financially free and look to enjoy more quality time with my family as I do want to move away from the day to day desk job.

<<Space shuttle blows up>>Houston: " Pick 7 more astronauts, put them in that rocket and send an other one up. 

But with prices rising in cities like Austin, Dallas, and Houston, do you think the market is still a smart investment or is it getting too expensive for returns?