You increase the likelihood that you continue to receive that $8,500 each month. 

Also, hyperfocus helps me find a home with the right conditions - a stable but increasing-value neighborhood.

Repairs made while the property is your primary residence are not deductible, but improvements can increase your cost basis, reducing future capital gains tax when you sell.

However, on the renting side, we have seen an increase in inventory of days on market too. 

With your income, you may qualify for an FHA loan with a smaller down payment, but buying now could limit your borrowing power and increase monthly payments.

It could be as soon as next week that I'll be back in Austin, so I wanted to see the likelihood of doing a single flip, for the first year, and what this looks like financially over time as we increase.

Long term interest rates should continue to increase.  

It is essentially the last town before the pass.Regarding what @Lisa Marie said, there are is a ton of good info in there but for your needs, you need to increase the cost to clean.

So what kind of property would it take for you to increase your cash flow by $2000 - $3000 a year. 

Longer Tenure in HomesData from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows people are staying in their homes for a decade (see graph below):This increased tenure means homeowners benefit even more from home values growing over time.