However, rent to own is rare and I feel like a lot of people do "we buy homes cash" these days.

I went to there home in NYC last year in June.

Ironically, in line with your interest in Galveston, I am about halfway through constructing a beach home there (Beachside Village), which I plan to use as an STR / vacation rental.

If this is a single family house and you intend on leasing the home as a single family house and there are no active violations on the property, I don't foresee any issues with this being a 2 bedroom home as opposed to its previous layout.

You can check out the application I built that helps investors, specifically real estate investors find homes in their area.

2- I am also looking at Lenar homes in Plum Creek, Kyle and Whisper in San Marcos.

I house hacked a property that has 9.4 acres, and has a duplex and single family home on the property.

So in theory it can't be a LTR if we move out someday, but a lease naming a tenant as "manager" probably gets around that.I've thought a bunch about how to improve the property's cash flow, and there's lots of marketing and operational low-hanging fruit before we get to capital improvements. 

I am wanting to purchase a vacation home, and also rent it out when we are not there.

Stinger Home Management