Ken's advice above is good but even better would be to find someone who has been inside the comps rather than relying on just pictures (which can often do a surprising job making a house look nicer than it really is if the photographer is good, or not as nice as it is in person if the photographer is bad).

Not many folks first job is RE agent/broker etc.. like mine was..

Nice to meet you Anthony, born and raised in the dmv.

Overall economic conditions in the Austin metro (job creation, corporate investment, unemployment, etc.) still look very robust and promising for this decade and beyond.

you could look out of state but I feel it’s risky especially being new. try to find something 30 mins out from where you are located, small cit/village/township etc. it’s expensive in my city (cincinnati) but i found something right/just under my price point. it’s a 38 min drive from my job but it is mines :) 

It’s always nice to get a few perspectives when making a decision like this.

My wife and I have a regular W2 job so any cashflow made would just stay in the properties bank account for repairs and maintenance.  

It would be nice to capture those deductions / losses to be carried forward, if that's how their tax system works. 

I have met them several times now and they are very nice people, get along with each other, and seem to help maintain the property well… for the most part… which leads me to my main point.

I am currently trying to understand how people with 40 hour/week jobs efficiently go from building a list to getting a motivated seller on the phone to an appointment and signing a contract I currently have more money than time and I would like to outsource all steps of wholesaling besides the sales portion.