With that being said, to make a competitive offer, you basically have to leave yourself no outs on the contract.

Though Central Austin is can be a very lucrative location to invest, purchasing properties there come with a premium and lots of competition, maybe researching and investing in areas that are more affordable could lessen the anxiety of starting out.The links to building your foundation is good idea as mention by @PaulTimmins above.

@Jason MercheyYou have a big advantage to almost all buyers by being a professional home inspector.

I don't want to go back to ND, i just don't see that the market would support what i am trying to do, and the California market is to expensive and competitive for me starting out.

And lastly I highly recommend becoming a Pro or Plus member of the site to take advantage of all that BP has to offer you.

There is a problem out there with investors doing it wrong, taking advantage of people, and flat out screwing up the market for those of us that want to do it right.  

Also, you can use this time of year to your advantage.

You took advantage of the tax laws that you can only use once, then educated your children so they know how to do the same.

It's hard to go wrong with the input/advice/analysis of thousands of successful investors; take advantage of this resource!

If one owner decides to reduce rates to lower vacancy, it can become a race to the bottom to stay competitive.