However, I have relationships with people who can do the work better and I am more analytical and geared towards the business side.

Many people do a DSCR loan at this point, which would be a 30-year term.

That makes me the enemy landlord who is always trying to get every bit of their overtime check, and then they want every little detail fixed and I get high turnover.Rather, I wait for $700 to hit and say, "Listen, rents have gone way up in the past x years and I haven't touched your's because you've always been a great tenant.

If you can swing it and are willing to do what it takes to not lose the property if sh** hits the fan, then I would highly suggest purchasing in a more desirable area. 

As Arn mentioned about what people offer, first rule of investing is do not even look at the projected returns first.

If you had told me what I now know is overwhelmingly true, that somewhere between 80-85% of America's millionaires are self-made and do not become net-worth millionaires until they hit their fifties, I wouldn't have believed it, I would have thought there was some trick to the statistic.I know better now.

A lot of people don't account for all of their expenses and think something will cash flow that actually doesn't.

@Jason Sinclair, having a designer for a wife, I would answer that it really depends heavily on each house, the flow and usability of the spaces as they are, and the overall use of space in the house as a whole.That being said, while there may be a small shift towards more separated spaces, "open concept" is by no means dead, and in many markets, most people seem to still want to have connectivity between their communal spaces.In fact, my wife's current flip is a split level (although technically it is a split-foyer), and she is taking out a structural wall to connect the kitchen, dining and living areas.  

I'm not sure about Houston but make sure you find a great agent who's focused in your area. call agents who list new construction or who closed land purchases and represented people. on my closed transaction list and active listings it's land on the buy side and new construction homes on the sell side. make a spreadsheet, email and call every single one, have 10-15 conversations, meet with 3, pick 1. sales funnel. 

Thanks to plenty of smart people here on BiggerPockets, I have learned that it may be possible to offset a portion of this unexpected higher W-2 income with the purchase and "active management" of a STR.