I am in the Austin, TX area, preparing for my first property and was planning to get it next year after I save more for a DP.

Here is the flooring we went with: Pergo San MarcoThe texture and coloring is forgiving and the durability for water allowed us to carry the flooring into the bathroom, which saved us on cost of tiling!

I would look up your state's landlord-tenant law online. 

I love learning as much as I can so any books, online articles, etc that you recommend would be a big benefit to building my knowledge. 

Nobody wants to "reward" bad behavior, but if you can rid yourself of a problem quickly, you might save money in the long run.

I love learning as much as I can so any books, online articles, etc that you recommend would be a big benefit to building my knowledge.

In addition to that the money that I am saving from previously paying rent, electric, internet etc...

When you have dozens or hundreds of tenants paying you every 30 days you don’t have to kill yourself saving back from your w2 job or beg the bank for a loan to buy real estate

You can rent them or buy one online.   

We typically see about $1,000 shaved off of our taxes owed on our 9 properties each year and that is with us splitting the savings with the company that protests for us.