Property sizes can vary, but something with a couple of bedrooms usually appeals to a wider range of tenants.As for Houston, it seems like a solid market for MTRs with its strong medical presence and diverse industries.

I'd rather you have a single family home in Waco, Belton/Temple, somewhere on the I-35 corridor than an out of state duplex in a stagnant market with little to no population growth. 

This was a step closer to my answer. 

Great move on negotiating with the seller though.I know you said you have called everyone but I'm shocked you can't get an answer since septic is usually the biggest issue with counties.

Now and then you get lucky and they've had a buyer cancel or not close, or they somehow get stuck with some inventory, but that is more luck than negotiation skill.   

My husband and I are going to be renting out our first rental property hopefully in the next couple of months.

I’ve looked at Zillow and look at the school scores close by, look at google maps but other than that is their some tool I can leverage to help sped up this process?

You need the sponsor more than they need you.

Rents are actually quite a bit higher than my mortgage payment.....

I think you need to challenge the person in charge-both the PM (and if they truly bought it for $100K less than market value, report them) and the person she has in charge of her finances.