What should I expect from Houston?  

The project is expected to cost around $2s Million.[10]JE Dunn Proposed 20 Story Office/Retail Building- Kansas City developer has proposed plans to build a 20-story, 250,000 SqFt tower on East Broadway between Scott and Sixth Ave.[11] Extension of Aviation Parkway Approved- The decade old plan to extend Aviation Parkway around Downtown and connect with I-10 has been approved.

Just wondering how competitive it is and how often I could expect to have it rented.

C area I would expect somewhere between 10% and 15%.Have you received any financials from the seller to show actual numbers?  

Expect to pay about two grand to get a reasonable coverage for your VR.

In my experience, closing attorneys close on time about 50% of the time, and everybody sort of expects this bad performance from them. 

I know a buyer broker that would go right around the listing agent and work directly with the seller and the listing agent is then out like the fat kid in 5th grade dodge ball if they pull some of the nonsense you hear about.Generally, the poor Buyers Agent is limited as to what they can do for fear of having the listing agent file a complaint on them with FREC (Florida Real Estate Commission)But as a Florida Mortgage Broker, I'm not subject to FRIC, FRAC or FREC and have no problem going straight to the seller if needed or ask by my borrowers. 

However if you don't have the capital to do this, mailing is an okay way to start just don't expect to get a deal from your first 1-5 mailings.

Will they be actively involved in the deal as well or are they just bringing part of the equity and putting it in your hands with an expectation of a financial return?

If your score is, let's say, 775 in Credit Karma, you can expect your score in the report run by a lender to be 25-35 points lower (or more strict), like 740.