Thanks to COVID, for a couple of years, you can actually make enough money to be cash flow positive even if you hire a property manager AND have mortgage payments. 

In short, I can afford the additional $1100/mo cost of a second house, even until I rent it out.I have around $35K in HYSA and emergency funds that I could use for a down payment, but that's less than 20% which would be required for a conventional loan, assuming full purchase price.

Sometimes, the more old-school approach like posting on local community boards can help you find reliable tenants.

What property management software or tools would you recommend for tracking rent payments, leases, and maintenance requests?

They are more useful IMO for getting chunks of equity right off the bat thru value add and then either realizing that equity by flipping it and using for a down payment on something bigger or hold a couple years and then sell at that point to do that then. 

Even at that price point, you may struggle to find a tenant, potentially leaving the property vacant for months.Here’s an example of a deal I’m currently working on:Purchase Price: $215,000Rehab Costs: ~$250,000ARV: ~$615,000Potential Rent: $3,600/monthUsing a $615,000 ARV and 75% LTV on the cash out refinance, with taxes and insurance, my monthly payment would be $4,267 using an 8.5% rate.

It will be very difficult to cash flow in Austin using traditional LTR methods unless you put down a huge down payment.

do not use a line of credit for a down payment. 

Upfront expenses and monthly payments must be considered when calculating the return on your investment.EXAMPLEYou cash out $100,000 of your equity and use this as a down payment on a $400,000 investment property.

A lot of them contain Balloon Payment Provisions.