You can plan ahead now based on what to expect but this doesn't mean your outcome will turn out the same as your friend experienced.

While the project is moving along, keep a close eye on the market surrounding it, the list and sale prices for new listings and sales, and visit any that look similar in person.

It makes the accounting process easier for your tax professional in years ahead as well.

Just a heads up on STR's, you won't be able to operate one in the Austin city limits, and several parts of Travis County, unless you are a primary homeowner.

I wanted to get into this industry for a long time and figured I would get an early start now so that by the time I retired from the military, I would be ahead of the curve.

You might be able to visit a few areas in a weekend and create a rough list of where you would like to look to buy.

But in most cases, go ahead and claim 100% if you can. 

Should my property manager visit her to persuade her to vacate rather than wait to be evicted? 

Should my property manager visit her to persuade her to vacate rather than wait to be evicted? 

All in all I would say the biggest red flags that I'm not sure I could've anticipated without experiencing it for myself were the lack of commitment to the project, lack of project management skills, and lack of planning ahead/ anticipating lead-times of materials.