Yes, I'm a Property Manager in the greater Phoenix area.We are a mid-size property manager, large enough to have great tools and support but small enough to provide personal service.

I’d love to hear about the crime rates or any other issues (which we cannot guess from the online stats), and how easy or hard it is to find reliable tenants and property management companies.

For example, could I use my SDIRA to operate a management company that charges my holding LLCs a management fee?

A small multifamily property is a smart choice for a first investment—it offers a great balance of income potential and manageable scale for someone new to the space.Don’t worry about being ambitious; it’s clear you’ve done your homework, and you’re already ahead of the game by setting a clear goal.

You are also going to need to decide how to manage the property. 

Oh man- welcome to self management.

I'm a broker and property manager.

To rent the home, I would lose about $2,500 per month (based on comparable rents in my area, property management fees, etc).Both options loose the same amount by roughly 2 years, and by this time, I still will not have built up much more equity in the home to make selling it a break even unless there is price appreciation by then.My dilemma is this: I speculate that my home will not appreciate much in the next 3-5 years due to the rapid pace of development in the surrounding area.In 5-10+ years, maybe, but by then I'll have bled $150,000 - $300,000.I have thought about this a lot and feel that I mar'-too close to the problem to see the best solution.

Could it attract squatters, or is it the right move for responsible property management?

Our manager’s credit score requirement is 550, but even that has been hard to satisfy.