From there I defined what type of tenant I was looking to provide service to and then from there properties that are the best for that specific role.To give you a more specific example, I had a smaller budget (say 130/door max) and was looking to appeal towards a family with school aged children. 

There is a tall wall that runs along Talbott street to block most of the tracks visually.

I am a successful professional NYC singing teacher and "thwarted architect" and gardener (project-oriented with an underutilized visual talent) currently living in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

I have found absolutely that it does make the house more appealing to online viewers.

Wanted to get some perspectives on what's most appealing to a seller when putting in an offer.

Sometimes it's just about being the quickest to find it and make an appealing offer, other times it's taking on a project that might make other investors uncomfortable (example - a property that needs foundation work will deter many beginner investors, or if a property needs rehab and it will be sold with a tenant - could cause a headache).Find a property on market you're interested in, find the purchase price that'll make your numbers work, and make an offer.

Also, as many have said, you should focus on the first radius of suburbs (Pflugerville, Del Valle, Round Rock, Cedar Park) to find homes that are newer construction and appealing to families if this is your target demo.

Only if you think curb appeal will help with the sale, 3 tab roofs look cheap to some.

I'm curious how much time and effort folks spend on improving landscape features when flipping or renting houses to boost curbside appeal?

.- Nearly always (unless your home is like a staged new construction model home) staging - meaning even if you have your own items in the home, usually moving things around, removing some, replacing others with rental items if the original items make the rooms look too small or dated, adding/replacing decor and art work, making sure flow and decor maximize space and positive features, repainting walls if the paint color is lowering appeal.- Same concept for outside.- Professional grade photos.- Pricing that takes into account your home's unique features, which could mean going higher or lower than just lumping it in with the mix of comps that appear to be similar.This is agent specific and not necessarily related to a specific company, I see high end 'premier' listings poorly marketed by mainstream traditional companies sometimes and some 'budget' agencies where the agent just did a great job with this stuff.