Design"Maybe she's more competitive"Hey dear, do you want to negotiate with sellers...?" 

BUT it does affect my bottom line since I could offer a more competitive rent price to my current and prospective tenats if I they paid taxes on actual rent profit only (instead of money that is being somehow "held on escrow" by the Landlord, i.e.

There's just more competition.

The market we are in is extremely hot for sellers, such that most duplexes have multiple offers at or above asking after only a day or two on the market, which makes it difficult to request additional information ahead of making an offer, such as the lease, yet remain competitive and timely. 

The Area you mentioned are great but there is a high cost of entry, might want to consider a few other areas in the area as well there is a lot of competition in Houston so when your starting out you really need to take the deals you can find. 

@J Usmonov right now we're still dealing with a global pandemic that had significant impacts on our economy.

Greetings BP Family, I remember when the Corona Pandemic first began, there was so much talk about all the opportunities to come, the lowering of housing prices, the sea of foreclosures to come ect....Quite Contrarily, Ive noticed that it has only made things worst and more competitive for buyers, once again giving the power to the seller.Some observations:Prices have gone up- I saw a house that was listed two months ago in probably a F class neighborhood relisted for 25,000 more this weekThere was already low inventory, so now that there are even less homes for purchase...folks may have to fight over the few availableAuctions are suspended so this is one less route to explore.

In my opinion, discounting any strategy right now is difficult as the competition is still so high.

Might not make for a competitive offer, though.

REI in the US has become very competitive.