I would like to plug it into my stock tracker so I can better monitor the changes.  

if your doing a senior project I would suspect your best and most cost effective landing solution is going to be a local community bank that loves real estate.. in my experience most will want 50% down on the dirt and a ton of experience and a really strong balance sheet.Myself I always pay cash for the dirt this makes finding a lending partner much easier.

this is very common.. 

I personally invest in long term rentals.

Not all attorneys are equal, so ask them questions to find out how often they do this, their methods, their success rate, etc.

I do think that you are right about Texas allowing them but many of the companies that offer them do not seem to have availability in Texas, including the ones that you listed.

Hi BP friends, I usually use PropertyShark to examine and compare properties for my analysis.  

I'm planning to refinance my Va Loan to a Convential Loan to free up my Va Loan again to buy a duplex for house hacking.

Is it more profitable to turn a STR to a MTR for the winter months in a coastal town?

I am having trouble finding distressed properties with enough "meat on the bones" to make enough money on the deal.