Entry on the main floor provides access to the living, dining, kitchen and a bedroom with its own private patio. 

When the property has electronic keypad locks on the exterior entry doors, is it required (by law) for the landlord to also provide the tenant with a physical key?

Even though the entry price may be higher.

Believable or not, the tenant can sue you for a variety of things, including forced entry, stolen property, etc. if you are found in the property. 

I found pricing in Phoenix, where I am currently located too high for my initial investment and turned to easier markets for entry.

If you want to be a landlord in Texas, you better know the law.Texas Property is the first place to start.Chpt. 91 - General provisions that apply to all tenancies: https://statutes.capitol.texas...Chpt. 92 - Residential tenancies: Jim Cummings already covered that.Chpt. 93 - Commercial tenancies: https://statutes.capitol.texas... if you want to lease, as landlord or tenant, commercial property.You also want to be aware of Texas Fair Housing Act, chapter 301.If you ever need to perform an eviction, you need Chpt. 24 - Forcible Entry and Detainer: https://statutes.capitol.texas... is where you need to read.Your property will probably have restrictive covenants (property owner's associations, but not condos [Title 7, chapters 81 and 82]), so you need to look at Title 11 (chapters 201 through 215) to know what can and cannot be done.Title is recorded according to Texas' Recording Act (Titles 2 and 3, chapters 5 through 15), which tells you the requirements of what may and may not be recorded.To understand what is exempt from creditors liens and how to place liens, you need to look at Title 5, chapters 41 through 70. 

Third there is effectively no barrier to entry, the ease of which someone can register and bid online makes the playing field that much larger.

Have them be responsible, and make sure they salt and leave a bag of salt at the front entry for tenants to use just in case.City ticket? 

There's also a somewhat significant barrier to entry due to the price point of available properties in that market.

Our attorney is recommending a provision requiring that book losses be allocated to member capital accounts AND that members must then make contributions to offset those negative entries.