One other thing... if you're going to be cheap, and run Mogas... the IS has all the benefits. 10% ethanol is not going to phase it, at all, and having vapor lock definitely becomes a non issue, pretty much, with a EFI fuel system. Knowing you live in hot Texas... that might be a consideration.
The IS motor package will start out a #775 bird, before paint, the ULS package, probably 750 -752# , both with wheel pants, which weight about 10#. Get rid of the wheel pants and you lose 3-4 kts cruise, and 10#
I'm 62, retired, and just learned how to fly. So no, I did NOT want to be a builder, I wanted to fly. So I bought someone else's completed plane. It was probably $30 to 35k less than the asking prices I see now on Barnstormers, May, 2020, and had about 170 hours on engine and air frame, which were both brand new, on a RV-12. It might be 40 to 50k less than for you to build up your own brand new fully painted up RV-12, nowadays.
Weigh your wants and needs, carefully. Can you afford it? Everyone's needs are different.