The first thing worth noting....if you plan to occupy the property at all, you won't be able to get a DSCR loan as they prohbit owner-occupancy.

So, you don't have to talk directly with an owner to find a deal.

Private/Hard Money lenders do not lend on owner occupied properties due to consumer protection laws.

If a house does have some rotten wood ( siding and trim around the windows and or doors , missing an appliance or two ( say there's no stove or dishwasher ) ......

Your plan to save $25k in a year for a house hack in Austin, TX, is a solid starting point.

My goal is to buy the house, terminate the section 8 lease as soon as possible (at the lease term, to avoid eviction process), and search myself for other better tenants.

I would LOVE to develop this land myself and sell a house, I simply don't have the capital. 

That bedroom has access from the outside through a door built into the side of the house.

They ended up bankrupt and foreclosed on and I moved somewhere else. 14 years later my lot in a town where building had boomed, housing prices were up about 40% and there was solid population growth had gone from being worth $28,500 to being sold for $19,000.

The easiest way to avoid the licensing issues is to simply lend money, or buy paper on investment properties. 90% of the states do not require a license to originate, lend, or buy and sell paper if the subject property is Non Owner Occupied, ie: Business Purpose Real Estate, ie Investment Property.