My husband and I run Captain Save a Home LLC, Brew City REI Club, Brew City REI Training Cafe and Wisconsin Contractor and Handyman Club based out of Milwaukee, WI.

I’m new to the real estate investing world but since January I’ve been trying to learn as much as possible (BP podcasts, forums, etc.)I’m wanting to start with a few SFH rentals in my “backyard” which is the rural area of south TX but with great schools.

My ultimate goal is to be financially free to be a small high school coach and not worry about the crappy pay.

When an individual property is distressed and hits the market, it's not going to have those instant 12 offers and bid wars flaring up over them that you will see with those purdy perfect white picket fence Hollywood dream homes in areas with optimal school districts for their kids, etc. 

Yeah, I know that is not so good, but I didn't go to Georgetown business school.

I started out strong with mine in high school then quit in college and never started again and now I’m 45 trying to play catch up and hoping real estate can fix my retirement account.

From here, assuming you get pre approval for a new construction loan, moving into a cheap rental would be one option- I would be cautious of where if you have school age children; in some districts the mailing address must match the home address for the children to attend the same schools as now, and I doubt you would want your tenant receiving anything from the school as it pertained to your children in terms of privacy if you tired to get around this by listing current address as home and mailing address.

The seller was moving to NY and wanted an as-is sale right away, but wanted to have the ability for his family to stay in the house for 2 months until school was finished.The house was pretty nice, just needed a cosmetic update inside, and the roof was shot.

It's also in close proximity to UTSA and a relatively easy commute to either Lackland Air Force Base or Camp Bullis, leading to a consistent demand for rentals and a solid tenant population.The neighborhood is within Northside ISD and currently zoned for Fields Elementary, Jefferson Middle School, and Harlan High School, all of which are rated 7/10 on GreatSchools. 

Her intentions are to stay in the property for an additional 3 years for her kids to finish school in the district.