Somebody somewhere had to pay for that real estate at some point and has continued to pay for it since.

Then she still only makes 2% extra for taking the risk of you not paying versus a bank.

Don't pay the current owner (higher purchase price) for the work he/she didn't do.

They sent a new contract trying to bind me to still pay $200 per month, which I refused to sign.

This is good pay for them. 

This also begins YOUR title seasoning, so that when you're ready to take out a traditional mortgage, you can refinance and pay off the seller without a title seasoning issue. you can buy title insurance from the title company at closing. this is a good idea. 

I pay a real estate agent for listing properties and I handle payments through Rentec Direct app.What is the rate that should be paid for property management (partial PM as described).

Since Texas is a tax deed state, you gain ownership at auction, but the previous owner has 6 months to 2 years to redeem it by paying your bid plus 25% interest (in year one).

So a question, haha, and forgive me if this sounds incredibly naive - how about getting a property manager or someone else with boots on the ground to do the underwriting by visiting in person etc.

Hello BP,The Producer Price Index (PPI) is a valuable metric to monitor, as it measures inflation from a business perspective (what businesses pay for services/goods) that isn't always reflected in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or "inflation" which is commonly discussed in headlines and among other investors.