The soft soil, hard water and constant AC use by most Texans create a lot of maintenance issues.

I painted, tore out carpet, and refinished the charming wood floors underneath.

The soil from the barren backyard has all washed towards the foundation I'm sure contributing to the termite issue.

Keep in mind the type of soil. 

Simple removal could cost $3500 but if there is leaking into the soil it could cost $10k-$20k easily is my understanding.Does this make this a potential seller financing deal? 

You can also put a caveat on title saying that you hold a beneficial interest in the property, so there's no way the person on title could sell the property out from underneath you without you knowing about it.

Home is a pier and beam and has 3+ inches of water underneath. 

I have quite a few rentals and have big things delivered like gravel, soil, pavers, lumber, appliances or use a small utility trailer with my minivan. 

Every part of town has it's quirks like some parts you really need to check out the houses foundation/basement as there are heavier clay soils, some are full of meth heads, some at first blush may appear not too attractive but drive around and you'll find lots of older people still living there taking care of their yards, keeping everything up though the racists will say the houses aren't worth anything.   

No state income tax leaves you with Wyoming.Washington.Texas.South Dakota.Nevada.Florida.Alaska.subtract SD and AK for snow/freezing tempsSubtract Florida for hurricanes and high insuranceSubtract Texas for high property taxes and some areas with bad foundations/soil conditionsyou could say that also leaves Washington and Wyoming but I’m subtracting them for weather and other personal reasons.