Even if my offer isn't accepted or things don't work out for other reasons it's been a good exercise, as a newbie, trying to assess the costs and potential returns of the two different options.

A property does not usually hit the email blast phase until it's been picked over by others in your areas, so most of the time it will not be a deal....But if you get in the habit of looking at all of them and analyzing a few per day, it's a great exercise to sharpen your skill AND get to know the area.

Perhaps you should start a new thread“Help-Exercising tax sale redemption rights in Texas”.

Might be an interesting exercise for someone here to call around and find out who is cheapest. 

If renter fails to make the interest payment the lean holder could exercise their right to the property and take the title back.I'm sure there are other benefits or possibly disadvantages to attempting to do this.

@Brian Dickerson, federal law prevents lenders from exercising the due on sale clause if you transfer the property into a trust for estate purposes, but you must remain as the beneficiary, which means that you also still have all of the liability.

Not only will you find this exercise informative and enlightening, you'll also get an opportunity to understand if that lender is someone you want to work with.

Of course, this is also fabricated but I could easily draft up a lease purchase agreement giving the tenant the option which he would ever exercise. 

The question then becomes: how likely is the lender to exercise that right?

This person will be critical in helping you find the new listing quickly.Repeat this exercise 10 times or so without making an offer.