With that said, I'm not your lawyer.In the world of capital, your capital stack will be composed of debt or equity or a hybrid instrument (a bit of both). 

You need to get pre approved first.

He does not believe in accumulating debt or taking away from his cash flow.

It's a great proven way to break into REI.Step:1 Build credit and save for a down payment                                                                                Step:2 Get pre approved for a loan (consider FHA)                                                                          Step:3 Find a experienced agent(ask them what experience they have in investments)                Step:4 Learn to analyze deals and use the Bigger Pockets Calc. 

Meanwhile, I would love to build bridges to other careers to transition out of my current W2 (only after I grab my 1st property I've been pre-approved for based on that W2).

I would confirm with the local planning department on the use and if you could get an approval through an amnesty program or something similar.

I'd start out getting pre-approved and then start looking.

Now in Texas from what I think I know you can get through land use planning and project approvals FAR faster than us West coast developers. 

I was originally basing my mortgage pre-approvals on using an FHA loan.

The market rents are carried by the approved section 8 limits which goes up every year.