The rental market here seems to be cooling and it's hard to pencil deals even if I rent by the room to achieve higher than average rents.

I put a listing together and just said I was in the process of filling the unit. I

We have 10 properties in total on our 'resume.'  5 SFRs that were bought, remodeled, and sold.  4 30+ unit buildings with heavy capex (north of 300K) and a completed ground up construction of the exact unit I am trying to get financing on now.  

So it became a long-term action of repeating that cycle to achieve decent LT tenancy base. 

The local law says that the non owner occupied property being rented will need a designated host that may or may not be the owner however that other line item in the code that stipulates that the host must be available within 30 min driving while the unit is occupied becomes the dealbreaker.

A lot of my clients buying in FL are happy with minimal return but are buying for second homes, tax benefits, etc.I would stick with value add - with refi you can still achieve high CoC and a good equity position. 

Cons I would say are achieving financing.

Best of luck on your journey—your approach is strong, and with persistence, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goals!

I would rather you focus on finding a market that gives you the highest probability of achieving your goals. 

This is often achieved with written documentation, such as a formal ROW request from TxDOT or other correspondence indicating that condemnation proceedings were possible if no settlement was reached.