The seller is paying 20k in mortgage interest, given the current interest rates I would need to 45kish in mortgage interest for the said STR.

This leaves the Landlord stuck missing the rent (or deposit, depending on what you did with the last month of rent) and a tenant that failed to leave and you are one month behind on your eviction process.Best practice: do not apply the deposit to rent.

There are plenty of lenders that don't require experience to lend, but leverage/rate might be altered a bit.

The value may be more in the land depending how big it is and the location.

I keep wondering about insurance, vacancy rates, if tenant selection is a bigger/ different factor, terms of the tenancy and differences in opex and capex?

DSCR which has awful rates unless 25-30 down is an option.

Based on both of your posts I’ve done a little math and calculated I would have to charge $255 a night (at a 44% occupancy rate) to stand the smallest chance of making what would make this worth it to me.

Many homeowners locked in mortgage rates at historically low levels, between 2.5% and 3%, providing a golden opportunity for those refinancing or purchasing homes at that time.

Also seen the opposite where decent lot, decent price, looked clean, but when I got there must have been $100,000 in cleanup needed with all kind of trash and junk on that lot.I've never been to Harris county auction, but from what I understand they have multiple auctions and maybe even different locations depending on the precinct, so know where to go if you can.At one time there was a lady that would offer orientations at Harris county maybe 1 hour before the auction starts.When you are ready to bid, know how to pay. 

Depending on the interest rate and points, this might require a broker.