Do people use other methods than this? 

Debt is paid before the equity is paid (i.e. less risky) and in a perfect world should cost less than your debt.

For me, I can see that the searches in my area are 1/3rd of what it was last year, but the booked properties have a much higher rate than I do.

My portfolio has grown and I am wondering if there is a better way to have them pay rent other than giving out my bank account number. 

Investing in Austin would be more akin to investing in Nashville, than say Raleigh.All three of the aforementioned cities are great, price points differ between the two of Raleigh & Austin, and then Nashville is more Austin-esque pricing wise.

Not all tenant prospects are "perfect" and I can't always wait for perfect.

After inquiring with the town, it seems the chances of getting zoning approval for one unit are higher than for adding two units.

Owners needed to leave due to health reasons, after getting offers way lower than market - I ran numbers and decided to jump on it and give them what they needed.

I wanted to find an investment strategy that would provide more cashflow than a traditional long term rental, but I wanted it to be lower maintenance than a short term rental.

Some people will say you can only find BRRRR deals off the MLS and through wholesalers, but my experience is the wholesalers drastically over inflate the projected ARV and you can find similar priced properties on the MLS and their properties generally need a lot more work than they're letting on.