Anyways I am trying to decide if I just go out and buy some more properties (minimal return on cash) or do I try to dip my toe in hard money lending while I wait for property values to drop to get better deals. 

Looking to minimize the vacancy rate/closing but dont know if it good decision to advertise as is under construction and "living" upstairs.

We have been slow and steady with our investments to date, doing our best to minimize financial risks.

I think for most people flood risk only becomes an issue when the insurance company says it is, until then I think it will have a very minimal impact.

What is the ideal structure that minimizes the number of LLCs that need to be created?

@Gayatri MartinThe banks asks questions of everyone to minimize terrorist funding and anti money laundry scams. 

No matter how minimal the down payment is; you are going to be out of pocket multiple years of money that you could have spent just renting.

As you can see it’s minimal. 

still afraid of investing out of state.Though afraid I am looking into Texas (not sure specific location) for at least a SFR/duplex with Minimal work to get started. 

If the house truly has income potential, possibly you could work out a private money loan deal with family/friends/investor to loan you the additional down payment to get the bigger house for the income potential.If your DTI supports a higher purchase price than your initial pre-approval then talk to the mortgage broker.The last thought that comes to mind is if you find a home that already has a leased tenant that would help demonstrate that the house is already an income property and cash flowing so the bank may see this as a lower risk of default.Ultimately the lender is looking to minimize risk so putting you in more house than you can afford isn't going to happen without some other risk mitigation steps like the ones I noted.