Quote from @Chris Seveney: @Ane DeysI would not generalize all REITs as being equal and there are also a lot of private funds who did not go the REIT route as a reit, while having specific tax benefits is also required to be passive. thanks Chris, working on DD/researching. hopefully will acquire a better understanding in the next few months.There are several groups that also discuss passive investing options here on BP as well.

Jerome's change of tune last meeting tells me he understands this.

The areas by the Gulf have some high insurance premiums that are capping the prices... so not just mortgage rates.It would be interesting to see the distribution of the national numbers on new home starts, if they are clustered in TX.Anyway, I think perhaps with that much general "movement," the housing market in TX (its a massive state anyway), isn't entirely frozen like other markets. i'm very supply-demand person when investing anything rather than price or rate so I always trying to understand what's going on behind the surface, for example look at how the inventory is shifting in the last 3 years reveals something interesting ... it's not just TX that has supply increased but also oklahoma and nebraska, I thought in 2019 it should be the other way around.

The situation is indeed challenging, and I understand the importance of having someone on the ground.

If you are not familiar with the process I would look at articles/videos to understand the process.

I understand what you're describing about your wife - does she try to help her investors find a home, rehab it, place a tenant and then try to flip it, or does she manage the property for the investors to provide true hands-off, passive investing?

As you move up the risk spectrum, the projected returns should be higher, but you need to understand there is more volatility in the ability to achieve that return, meaning: a value-add deal with some vacancy, 3rd-4th generation space, more local tenants, should project a higher return than a new construction, national credit tenant base property, because there is more tenant risk, physical condition and obsolescence risk, vacancy and lease up risk, potentially retail corridor risk, etc.  

I usually reach out to my network if I have questions.Not the most exciting read, but you could check out the Texas Property Code for Residential Tenancies:  https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htmAnd understanding your lease in detail will go a long way to helping you as well - most new landlords really don't.Or if you have the time, find some landlord networking groups in your area. 

I've calculated the tenant-occupied vs. owner-occupied ratio and understand that for expenses that are for shared areas, that ratio would be applied at tax time to deduct. 

My personal experience was that there is a difference between a "Regular" accountant or bookkeeper and one who understands real estate.