If you want to be truly passive while living abroad you could consider a DST transfer or syndication where you transition your properties to professional management and get paid as a limited partner and not have to worry about any sort of property management takes.

There are a lot of ways to crash and burn, so increasing the odds of succeeding long term should be your highest priority. you can always sell your local assets once you're comfortable managing rentals and ready for a market that better-suits your criteria. btw, kudos for being self-aware of your limitations.

Add the difficult exit and your investor pool is very limited. 

While there are some limits here (you don't need a pasta maker), asking about having a plunger in each bathroom closet is insane.

The biggest challenge seems to be finding lenders that offer these loan products which is where I’m looking for help from the community with recommended lenders that serve Texas.The Fannie Mae (or Freddie Mac) options are preferred over FHA purely because of the (perhaps perceived) limit on renovation funds that the FHA option provides.

Ask the builder or their legal representative for a copy of the CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions) or any supplemental documents specific to the development.Financing Considerations: If you’re financing the property, some loan types have limitations on renting out a home within the first year.

One of the best hacks if you have limited cash is to buy a primary residence with up to 4 units.  

@Bryan Stengel, I think alcohol has been the tough one with the STRs, not sure about if you need license( hopefully someone will chip in ) , however there  always the liability part including but not limited to offering alcohol to people who are trying to quit etc.

In my experience, most have limited product offerings.

Otherwise, you may be limited to doing deals that are less than or equal to the equity in your home, and miss out on some bigger opportunities.That said, fix-and-flip loans will have higher fees and interest rates than most HELOC's.