As always, make sure to run the numbers carefully and factor in local property taxes and HOA fees, which can vary widely in North Texas.Delayed gratification is key in real estate investing, but with patience, the rewards can be life-changing.Best of luck with your search

You can also find real estate investing groups through meetup.com, Facebook, or a Google search.

I'm also seeing lots of homes for sale that were used as Airbnbs, so I'm wondering if that along with these numbers may indicate it's an overly saturated market, and if these are signs that maybe I should keep searching for a stronger market, or just a property that cash flows given the average annual revenue?

So on an so forth I think you will see a slow movement throughout the US for this. 

Sometimes you can find firsthand experiences that don't show up immediately in basic searches.3.

Here are a few suggestions on how you can maximize the wealth of information available: Check out the blogs and podcasts, or take advantage of the search feature (magnifying glass).

I would like insight from people with experience instead of a "Google search". 

An absolutely amazing forum that has an answer for any question you could ever ask... search the forum or ask. 

You can start by going to www.narpm.org to search their directory of managers.

We will shop for used appliances where we can when we need one… or pick up used cabinets if we can, or search eBay for something smaller,  but going to the extreme of personally shipping something big in internationally for one-off renovation needs seems like a stretch of reasonable.Just like you mention, the number of unknowns would not seem to be worth it to me.Just my 2 cents.Randy