Welcome to BP @Ben Miller I can't specifically help you, but search both here and Google for Meetup and REIA in Plano. the national REIA site has a list of all the clubs nationwide.

Austin Business Journal says a recent report lists Austin as the second riskiest market in the nation for a price downturn.

Fortunately, the TX market in general has been pretty resilient against the cyclicality of the national RE market, so hopefully you won't have another repeat of your PA experience.  

Carriers that allow up to 20 years include St Johns, Federated National and GeoVera.

In fact, Ki was previously the tax manager for the largest real estate company in the nation!

@Andrew Wong As far as I know, the bank will require it if they find you are in the flood zone during their underwriting process.Otherwise you can check http://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program-flood-hazard-mappingThe government's mapping shows if your parcel lands in a floodplain.

Very few areas around here do prices exceed peak prices of 2008.Of course there are strong markets like yours all over the country, HOWEVER, the national figures are still down. 

You can also try one of the big national lenders like Dwell Finance, but they will have higher interest rates.  

I was told that the interest rate will be the national rate whichever lender that I go.

Does anyone have a recommendation of a national commercial lender, who might be willing to lend on an 8-unit building for an out-of-state investor at a reasonable rate?