It will be not only complex (but doable) to secure financing for it, but the real issue is that if you ever want to sell it, it will be super difficult for prospective buyers to secure financing unless they are seasoned investors which limits your potential buyer pool and potentially your offloading price.

However, once I signed an agreement, they sent me an even longer punch list, approaching $2K for a while bunch of silly things, none of which would deter tenants (proven once I switched away from RL) and all of them carrying ridiculous surcharge prices way higher that one may see even in most expensive coastal markets like CA and NYC.

If it is worn or stained, yes, put in new carpet.On the other hand, we have had prospective residents tell us that we need to replace this stove or that carpet, and sometimes they are brand new. 

I’m curious, what do you think are the long-term prospects for Austin—especially with the tech industry’s presence?

Your property might be legitimately worth $1,500 and the tenant qualifies for $500 in assistance, but can only afford to pay another $500 for a total of $1,000, they won't approve $1,500.Unfortunately, you can usually only find both of these out when you have an application and lease signed from a prospective tenant and submit it to the local housing authority.

Further, the property manager is counting on the MLS and other agents to bring prospects, which seems like a bit of a passive approach.

You would be violating the law for doing that.Be comforted that most prospective residents don't provide proper ESA documentation. 

Do you have enough demand for services from prospects that comes through online search or ads?

Generally speaking, the easier it is to obtain a list of prospective sellers, the lower the likelihood of getting good deals from it!

Education is a wonderful thing - make sure your prospective tenants have some and motivation.