Lots of DIY landscaping; High grass, pressure wash deck and fence, replacing some broke boards on fence.Depending if I find anything alarming today, I am thinking ~10k, Most I want to spend is 15k for a rehab.He is asking 149K (doing more research, but I think I can get it lower for what it is.

The problem was he was over committed for available time to put into the partnership. 

We spend $40 monthly for 4 haircuts, $90 monthly for 3 wash & curls, $30 monthly for 2 car washes, and $100 a month for taxes only during the heavy season.

Also If you have an outdoor spigot located at the house you will be starting up a lucrative car wash service for the neighborhood without even realizing it !

Then I plan to sell (or cash out refi) after 1-2 years and roll the profits into a rental and a rehab...wash rinse and repeat.

An investor I was talking to said when he would go to buy Trustee properties that had defaulted and were going to auction, he would first spend hours at the recorders office making sure the owner did not have senior loans that were unpaid, because you are responsible for all seniors loans and liens on a trustee purchase.But how would you know whether they have a senior loan and if its paid off, where was he finding this info at the recorders office?

I can assure you, the contracts are going to be garbage, eye wash and marketing ploys, you can't circumvent uniform contract law, laws of agency, intent and ability to perform as a wholesaler as the gurus teach it! 

It is possible that the bank will be willing to wash their hands of the problem by selling their interest at a significant discount. 

Houston seems like a great place to invest, and as others said, the low prices of oil don't seem sustainable (at least until oil is really washed out of the feasible portable fuel market) in the coming 5-10 years. 

After about 5 years, we relocated to Houston (1993), so we sold the Dallas house, and bought a SFR in Houston (in Braeburn Valley), at almost a wash (100K sale, 100K purchase).