I'm not familiar with TX law.

Context matters, and there are steps you can take to protect yourself while still giving applicants a chance to prove their reliability.ALTHOUGH, still stay compliant with all of your states Fair housing laws, Always.

Read a text on real estate principles, law, and finance.  

@Paula Berry yes 48 laws of Power has numerous lessons that can be applied to REI.

Understand Proposition 13 for property tax benefits, local transfer taxes, and strict tenant and rent control laws.

Once you commit to this, it can actually be quite rewarding to provide housing to tenants.For contract renewals and rent increases, the first step is to familiarize yourself with local laws.

I must abide by the law and trust that mandate enforcement occurs even though I don’t see signs of it.

I do not want to stretch into California due to the Landlord laws and taxes. 

Just getting my feet wet out there over the last three years and its good to see the post and the additional feedback from some really savvy and experienced investors.Built about 10 cabins last year as I talked my ex brother in law into moving out there two years ago and getting our gc license. 

You can use petscreening.com to handle this task for you and ensure you are compliant, but I still recommend you really understand the law so you can answer questions or assist with requests.