If a major employer like Ryobi, Knauf or Casino pull out for whatever reason, think about what would sustain a town like Shelbyville. 

He designed my neighbor's addition and large kitchen renovation and is very reasonably priced. https://kauffmandesign.com/

The first thing that occurred to me is the HCAD estimate, which splits its property tax base value into both land value and improvement value.That said, I've heard that HCAD property tax valuations can differ from going market rates for a lot of reasons.

I have found a 3 unit apartment building that is reasonably priced and was thinking if i should make a move or wait and gain more equity.Thoughts?

And thus one of the major reasons to leave the parent's place.

Things can fall apart for a variety of reasons and you don't want to confuse the tenants if that were to happen.I like the idea of giving the tenants a month or two to digest the bad news of a rent increase, however this often gives the M2M tenants a reason to go find a new place.

This is just a theoretical that popped into my head, but for those markets where rents are relatively low, would it be reasonable to take on a tenant with the typical one month's security deposit, but in addition you add $50 or $100/month to the rent to build up the deposit till it hits two month's worth?

Do not rely on automated valuations for quite a number of reasons, not the least of which that the valuation algorithms can't "see" inside pictures for the condition of the house. 

My partners and I are keeping our hands in our pockets for the time being in Waco until we see home valuations come back down to something more reasonable.

No reason not to get all 3 options, since it's the exact same paperwork required on your end.