OR Hire a really experienced Realtor that specializes in Investment Real Estate that has gained valuable contacts over the years that could provide you with access to their resources for free OR Work directly with a Real Estate Investing company with decades of experience that can provide you with access to their contacts for free2) Finding a deal: Here's a few ways to go about that - You or your agent can search the MLS and crunch numbers on property advertised on the retail market and hope to find a deal that all of the other real estate investors in Texas may have missed OR You can attend auctions and try to outbid all the other seasoned investors there only to realize if you win then that means you paid too much OR Have random wholesalers send you the one off deals they get under contract OR spend the time, money, and energy in trying to become a wholesaler yourself OR Work directly with a Real Estate Investing company that can send you the largest source of deeply discounted property sent directly to your inbox in the form of a daily spreadsheet.3) Estimating Rehab, Holding and other Costs: Read FLIP by Rick Villani and Clay Davis and The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs by J Scott.

I’d like to avoid hiring a property manager as I can do home maintenance myself.

You don't need to hire a formal property inspector to find out an issue that makes it no longer an appealing purchase.

In either case, you can't work on the property as it must be a passive investment (e.g. you must hire someone to fix the toilet and can't pay the expense with non-retirement funds).7.

Disclosure, I'll be hiring an attorney but wanted to at least see if this is even worth the time.

Should I hire someone to do it?

I would recommend getting a freelance architect who is experienced with this kind of work to streamline you through the building department and permit inspections.

Stains/scratches on the flooring with a rule next to them so the size is known, pictures of the place being dirty with a statement from the cleaners you hired, etc.  

In either case, you can't work on the property as it must be a passive investment (e.g. you must hire someone to fix the toilet and can't pay the expense with non-retirement funds).7.

Demo expense can be $12k to $60k.Then hire an architect and get permits.