Any tips or tricks?

FHA loans are not credit score driven loans as much as conventional loans are.

You'll always be safer with that, a written contract, and paying via debt/credit card assuming their licensed & insured.Where in Houston are you looking?

Hot tip.

Our minimum requirement for credit score is 580. 1 of the applicants credit score is 558 (this person makes majority of the income) and the 2nd person has a 661 credit score.

Once, you reach to a certain milestone, you can open a line of credit to pull some equity out and start buying some investment properties, where you would need more capital but lesser income to qualify vs buying that property as a primary where it require less capital, but more income required to qualify.

There is about $10-15k of rehab work and it would be nice to capitalize on rewards while building credit. 

Look for local real estate investor meetups to meet people who are possibly willing to share their experience and what tips they may share with you.

You'll need to credit their rent for the time that the unit in uninhabitable. 

Here are some tips for networking and making the most of your account. 1) I'd fill out your profile fully before you do anything else!