There is a strong sentiment that to be a good buy and hold rental deal it must be a cheaper off market deal.. is that true?

It’s true anyone can sue you for anything, frivolous or not and it can easily happen.

There are a lot of too good to be true ads as well. 

All units are cleaned well and some updates have been made to paint, flooring, bathroom fixtures, and 4 new windows.Here are the negatives: No central heating or air, built in 1946, the duplex is metered together & costs approximately $150 per month, there are small waves in the flooring in 1 of the bedrooms, no stove or other appliances yet added.My thoughts: Some of the numbers seem too good to be true but at the same time I can't help but see big rehab numbers if I need to get HVAC and ducts installed (this makes me the most nervous).

As an example, if a property creates $60,000 of NOI, and the true market cap rate for that property is 6%, then the value of the property would be calculated by the NOI (60,000) divided by .06, giving you a property value of $1,000,000.

That is true, I have thought about that.

If that is true, then you should be able to use the CASH program in that market, for new or newish used homes.

The reverse is true for the closer you get to Killeen.

@Chris Conroy yes it’s true banks need 6 months seasoning.https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/delayed-financing-uncommon-refinance-option-cash-buyers

I am hearing that for investing in Texas, it is important to find newer homes (aka newer than 2010, as resale wise newer homes would hold more value down the line) - how true is this ?