For instance instead of having to stay glued to new listings, find the ones that show potential, then estimate rent, then put them in your calculator, then look at comps for ARV, then finally calculate offer price etc. 

Property Valuation:Investors look at a variety of factors to determine a property’s value, including comparable sales (comps), rental income potential, and location.

Additionally you can do a cost segregation study and get a lot of depreciation benefits to offset the rental income (and potentially other income).  

This just seems like it puts me in a potential bad situation if something goes wrong during the process.  

@Brooke Carlton I found a potential solution to this problem!

Go places where you can connect with potential buyers and sellers. 

Does anyone know of any folks in the Austin, TX area available to show properties to potential tenants?

Pensacola is a great market for investing and the number of properties available right now is up so there are actually some on market properties with potential. 

What are the next steps---BRRR seems like a good method for this- as theres potential for long term renters(near elementary and highschool)Step 1- look for a hard money loan(will they also cover construction?

Had we scheduled the closing in the morning, there would not have been an issue.The only potential upside is that a disaster area declaration triggers changes in mortgage rules that could beneficial to the buyer.