But I quickly realized that scaling one house at a time wasn’t the most efficient path to financial freedom.

Put yourself in a sellers shoes, why on earth would they ever choose some no-name "wholesaler" vs the licensed pro who is KNOWN, delivers everything that other promised and more, for less? 

Or I would do a cluster of them on separate parcels or investment.

Hi Juliann, before moving forward, it’s important to determine the level of renovation you're comfortable with.

To maximize my cashflow and gain landlording experience, I’d do STR and MTR in the other units, as well as the other bedrooms in my unit.

What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.?

Never built in Houston before so take my feedback with a grain of salt but I'd put money on it being impossible to build a duplex from scratch for $125 a foot (including everything from drawings, engineering, permit fees, general conditions, labor, material, landscaping).Out here in AZ the builder cost is going to be $200 a foot at best, but add 20% on top of that for the client cost.

Based on your question, you have two core decisions to make, and they may conflict with one another - where do you want to live, and where do you want to invest? 

Paul - Firstly, congratulations on accumulating a strong (and diversified) financial foundation.

I’m trying to move away from it, but was wondering if other people knew how to do it