As for whether or not this is common practice in Texas I am not sure.

Resulting from lenders hitting the pause-button during the robo-signing/mortgage crises in an effort not to get sued by borrowers who were victims of either predatory lending practices or illegal foreclosure proceedings (robo-signing). 

Practice on a flip when the odds are tilted more in your favor.

The idea of flipping excites me but I'm not sure how practical that is, given that we live in Bermuda. 

@Ben Allard I only have one daughter and she is seven years old - I'm sure its a little different with three so close together but I have managed this since she was a baby with my real estate practice, flipping and wholesaling.  

The BiggerPockets community offers practical information based on first hand experiences and connects me to other investors, especially in my local area, and I hope to make good use of it to learn more and to share what I can!

Doing this a a W2 earner in non-real-estate field is practically impossible. 

Help me to avoid any unethical or illegal practices.

Though I guess in practice that's the case with every NPN, Cheers 

There are also remedies that a property owner can make to minimize risk without the perpetuation of bad practices.