This is if given the choice and you have ample money in both areas. 

Lease options are not necessarily the best choice in Texas. 

Maybe time to contact your agent and see what your choices are for that area of the building.

@Richard Sanchez SmartMove is a popular one on BP also and one recommended by BP:https://www.mysmartmove.com/

We are trying to decide if getting a loan from our current bank would be a good choice or if we should use another type of lender.

Provided you do not discuss with rejected applicants why someone else was chosen over them you may select whom ever you wish for what ever reasons you deem to be important.Landlords that operate and select tenants out of fear of having to dealing with rejection of applicants usually make bad choices and do not last long in this business.

For people that stream tv on their computer / device, this was a popular feature to the property.

When I bounced this idea off of my boss, (a real estate investor himself) he said that the 2nd option is a bad choice because I would be forced to pay a capital gains tax because I wouldn't be living in the house first.

@Tom Ott is correct in saying that the Midwest is your most logical choice to invest in.

That was a massive problem for that entire area.I think your choice not to purchase anything at the present time makes good sense and I am doing the same.