I've been looking at single family home prices and rental prices in Austin TX and its suburban areas, and it feels like it's extremely unrealistic to find something that passes the 2% rule.

Currently the duplexes start at $300 k .

In some states however, you need to open the escrow account in the tenants name and unfortunately that is not possible at the moment.

You can call me at 503-888-6927 to talk .   

Yes, you just need to write it into the lease or add an addendum stating that the driveway is not part of the lease and the owner retains use at all times.

Failure by the Buyer to so notify the Seller and/or Seller’s Broker in writing, within the calendar days, shall constitute an election by the Buyer to proceed with the transaction.As @Nathan Gesner mentioned, an estoppel agreement is a great thing to get but I have rarely been able to convince a seller to get that from their tenants during a purchase and you could put yourself at a disadvantage when bidding on properties by requiring the seller to get this

Take a look at BP's blog where new articles are published every day: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog4.

When applying for new loans at least from my experience its never been an issue with any of our clients getting a Heloc on primary then converting that primary into a rental. 

Prior to that, I was a subdivision title officer at Fidelity for seven years. 

At around $4m in value today.