There is more work in doing that than just letting the current house ride along.

Please a numbered  bullet point fashion - state out basically all the criteria that make a n area the "right" place and evergreen for renters and high rental demand.  

@Katrina Nicole-IvyWhen you learn to ride a bike, you don’t get taught to ride 2 at the same time.What book, course, podcast or forum taught you to buy 2 properties you can’t afford, have never seen and don’t have any clue how to rehab?

Find a new owner's insurance policy that will cover the dogs and let them ride out their stay with you.

My degree is in Fashion Design.

Jump in, both feet first, and enjoy the ride.  

Good paying job, good credit score and a healthy bank account goes way smoother in my opinion then starting from scratch with nothing.Life is marathon and there is more than one way to find success in life.Good luck and get ready for a long rough ride.

(Using "Greater SF Bay Area" assumptions here, assuming no big city Oakland/Berkeley/SF transfer tax, I don't know Texas so can't comment on that)A lot of the closing costs do not scale up and down in a linear fashion with purchase price.

I personally prefer being close in (I can walk to one bldg and am 7 minute drive to my others :) So I personally vote for Tracy, and ride the coattails of the massive South Bay tech economy.

Some courts may be closed but many places allow filing evictions online which is what I would do after having a conversation with the tenant (via letter) indicating that there are no free rides during the covid event and if they don't make arrangements to pay, they'll be evicted and a judgement will be sought in court which will follow them forever until they pay it.