Recent report from the US Census Bureau on Housing growth, report linked below, tables pulled directly from the report:Of the top 10 in the country, 5 are found in Texas.  

There are other location selection criteria, but price and rent growth is number one.Rent and Price Growth Rate - Inflation is constantly eroding buying power; each year, it costs more to buy the same set of goods and services.

I really like the idea of testing scripts then outsourcing it so I can focus on the more important tasks.

There is a lot of growth and development in the residential sector but there is also a huge amount of growth in the industrial sector as well.

@Hayden Wright higher cap rate is not always better, capture initial equity through value-add, reserves should be substantial and you will likely use them, if you buy off of a long-time owner be sure to budget for insurance and property taxes to be a lot more than they’ve been paying, buy in an area where rents and property values are going up (good market fundamentals like lots of jobs in diverse fields, affordability (wages can pay the rent), population growth, good schools, low crime etc.).

Rather than spending time doing the cleaning and appliance installs yourself, hire that out to and use your time for tasks more suitable for a business owner - finding more deals, more money and more team members!

Option #1 sounds good.Look at your Option #2:You have already planned to wait 4 months to save 3k on your current REFIYou are increasing your pool of cast at 2k per month, a projected +8k growth in your cash pool.If you put your cash on that pay down, you say you will save ~1k  (equivalent to 1/2 month) and you take your self out of the market for your second investment for 4 or 5 months.Just be sure to hold your horses for a new investment that has solid cash flow and not be depending on current appreciation rates.Your focus on REFI makes me wonder?

Just 2 years later the unabated growth was no longer a problem and people were talking about if the city could ever recover (spoiler, it could).Austin will correct just like every other real estate market since the dawn of time. 

If there are any other real estate investors with units in this neighborhood with an opinion on good handyman in the area for smaller tasks (minor plumbing issues like toilets, small repairs, etc.)

And then form a master to-do list for the day pulling the most important tasks from each.