I like the idea of paying myself rent as I’m planning on using my first house as a gateway to more deals.

I do recommend Gateway Loans though.

Another option would be to pay a list provider such as Rebo gateway or Real Aquisitions since your in Houston and they are local.Hope this helps!

Sooooo, I developed my site using S3, Lambda functions, and API Gateway. 

I'm out in Bozeman, Emigrant, Big Sky, and Gallatin Gateway.

WAMU was bankrupted 2007 and the file servicing spun to Wells (most went to Chase but this was a long contentious file originated by Gateway Funding of Horsham PA.) 

It's helpful to hear where you're coming from, as in your gateway information to real estate investing.I'd flip the "trust but verify" adage to "verify" first.

Again, I understand that this first deal is really more of a gateway than an independent vehicle to financial freedom in and of itself.I find myself wondering things like: should I just keep researching markets until I find a place with good metrics that I might like to live in a year or two and begin investing there, long distance?

This will be a gateway question.

The meters have transceivers attached to their pulse output and they communicate wit a gateway that is connected to the internet through Wifi, Ethernet, or even through a cellular data connection (if no internet service is available).