Plan your renovations to be the most appropriate for your target market.

Minor pre-amble:  I'm just politely arguing, making a point - not pounding on the table here.  

First because you are miles away from the target property, sellers will ask more than property value.You can't run out to look at the deal - too far and not practical. 

You have to really analyze where the project could go bad and have contingencies in place in case you run up against them - i.e. the house doesn't sell, you have unexpected costs during projects, what the SOW of the project will entail, what your marketing costs are (his wife as an agent will help minimize these costs), what if something unforeseen happens and you cant finish project, whos name the house will be under, and that might determine who will be able to pull permits if needed, etc.Anyway, you should spend A LOT of time going over "what ifs" and sit down with your attorney and pound out these details.

Our preferred targets have been secondary and tertiary markets as a strategy (quick reality check though, secondary market in Texas are cities with population of 200K+). 

It's also very difficult to move to a new city and quickly figure out where to target and find a deal.If it takes you 6 mos to source a deal and another 2-3 mos to find contractors to get started, you'd be looking at a lot of nights in an expensive hotel.While this may make for a great experience, it's not likely that you'll make much money doing it.

If I have a small list (200 letters or so for my really targeted niche list), I'll still DIY it.

Check out --http://www.lonestarlandlaw.com/Lease-Options.htmlIf you're looking to find Sellers and dont have much money, then to get started you can generally stick to the traditional methods of scouring craigslist ads and other websites for sellers that are renting or selling their own home, making bandit signs to display in your targeted area, networking, handing out business cards, placing an ad in the local newspaper, driving for dollars, sending personalized letters to specific targeted houses, and doing some minimal direct mail marketing in a focused area when you find a good deal on printing/shipping.

Should I just target the petitioner? 

Sent to a very targeted small list.