I understand that some might take a strong stance, but I personally don't.

I intend to invest in a 3 BHK single family rental, around 2000-2500 sq ft and good school district in the Houston suburbs of Cypress, Katy and Sugar Land.Looking to connect with investor friendly agents with knowledge about the region to get an understanding  and initiate conversation.

But, the point is you want to understand the rates/terms of the loan you are using to make sure that you are not paying a lot of additional costs or pre-payment required to get the cash out a few months early. it may very well be worth it but you want to compare apples to apples. 

For the most part you can buy a home that needs a little TLC or a home that is run key.I would rather buy a duplex for $200K with solid rents versus a $800-$900K duplex in CA.

You should have this lined up and understand the options before you commit yourself to anything Especially if you are using hard money or any other then your own cash.

Am I missing something or not understanding the process? 

I understand your excitement about taking the plunge into real estate investing.

I'll definitely call Airbnb, so I understand the settings better. 

@David Friedman there are generally a few brokerages in each market that heavily deal in the restaurant space, it would likely be good to get on their radar, and to @Evan Polaski 's point, having your data/features on hand to "pitch" the site is likely a good call.Other items to note would be just to understand if the current configurations of the retail spaces could be reconfigured for a restaurant, things like grease traps, larger water lines, patio requirements may all be things they are looking for.  

In Atlanta, for example, it's unlikely that most condos are netting more as an STR than they would have as an LTR.The first thing to understand is what type of travelers are you expecting to receive.