I am swamped right now with my rental renovations & furnishings I am finishing up plus I typically work late, so I haven't been able to make it much lately.

Are you renovating your kitchen?

You must not follow your instinct and attempt to invest as little as possible into the renovations thinking "If someone is willing to live in this neighborhood there is no way they have standards". 

In a situation where you were doing an arbitrage (renting it from the owner, then yourself re-renting it to someone else) your costs to renovate/fix it up while you're using it would be able to be capitalized and depreciated by you once your rental was in service (available for rent to others). 

I would highly recommend doing a renovation loan like the 203k or homestyle - you are able to leverage SO MUCH CASH for such a low down payment. 

Only an investment team can provide the crucial local knowledge you need.Moreover, you'll need various resources to find, validate, inspect, renovate, and manage a property.

They’re fully renovated (or in good condition) and often come with tenants already in place, so you can start making rental income right away. 

The biggest challenge seems to be finding lenders that offer these loan products which is where I’m looking for help from the community with recommended lenders that serve Texas.The Fannie Mae (or Freddie Mac) options are preferred over FHA purely because of the (perhaps perceived) limit on renovation funds that the FHA option provides.

You might also meet title agents who have resources on, say, foreclosures or probates…and might recommend lenders who actually lend on more difficult projects (as the title companies also know which lenders can close and which are difficult).I also go visit open houses to see what sorts of finish to put on my renovations or to look for the next house or area in which to purchase.  

We have $400K into the property between Down Payment and Renovation.