I have 2 College Rental houses in Tempe. They are both 4br/2ba SFHs next door to each other. I do not have much experience small multifamily however I can tell you is that there is a target area that you should try to stay within which is all of the surrounding highways (202 North, 101 East, 60 South, 143 West). You can also venture into South Scottsdale as there are students that do like to rent in that area as well. Most students renting off campus have cars so walking/biking distance to campus is not really necessary. Although these places rent slightly higher they are substantially more expensive to purchase so I feel as through the sweet spot is 2-5 miles from campus.
Students usually like places with a lot of available parking (covered or garage preferred) and pools are liked by many but not all. There is an occupant limit of 3 unrelated individuals in a home, you can get around this by how you write the lease however just know only 3 people will ever be liable on the contract. Students are really BRUTAL on properties so plan on using quite a large portion of the security deposit going towards repairs and expect the house to turn over to to new renters every 1-2 years. However that being said, because of all these factors student rentals collect a premium rent in Tempe.
I hope this helps answer a few of your questions. Message me if you would like to dive deeper into talking about college rentals in Tempe. I lived in 4 different rental houses while I attended ASU and now I am looking to pick up another property or two every year moving forward.
