I understand every sale/state could potentially be different, but is their such a guide online that gives a STEP BY STEP rundown of who generally does what at what point in the process, along with best practices?

Check, but a search online says you have to give 30 days' notice if they will be been there for 1 year and 60 days' notice if they've been there more than one year and you are not renewing their lease. 

@Zachary Zimmermann You could reach out to wholesalers online (facebook groups) or networking events/meetups to see if they can find an off market property for you. you can fix it up as you live in it.

That's one of the major points I teach my online students.

We found it through searching on-line with Zillow and Realtor.com.

It depends on which bank you're using in some cases and as to what they specifically might be able to do with online options or you- some banks have Zelle for free transfers, but have little hang-ups like daily limits of $750. 

We are in a demand driven market and the consumer has shifted from retail experiences to online experiences wanting their products now.

I find it easier to trust people who have a large public/online presence (active on BP, social media, etc).

@Jeff Schemmel We asked several questions to get the tenant's side of the story and then we looked up the court records and the tenant's description matched what we could find online from the courts.

In any case, the Austin markets (real estate and labor) are very robust, and I don't see that changing in the near future.