The regulatory environment is also a key factor for me as a first-time investor. 

To identify a "good" market, consider factors like rental yield, local job growth, and demographic trends.

I currently mail a two page letter at $.45/ea, but i love the idea of having this integrated in a CRM.   

The 10 Year treasury as I mentioned in my post is also another Key factor when dealing with the 30 Year Mortgage and its dropped.

Where are the competitors offering different UI experiences, third-party API integrations, mobile apps, and other innovations?

The appealing aspect here is the ongoing population growth and other economic factors.

Hey Steve, with a conventional loan that may be possible would depend on a few factors. 

We specialize in owning and operating (we are vertically integrated and manage our own properties) multifamily in markets that have good job growth and good population grown but are underserved and fly below the radar.After underwriting many deals in the North Carolina markets for almost 18 months we found an off-market deal that met our stringent underwriting criteria.

Expense ratios vary dramatically depending on project size, age and other factors, but basic rule of thumb is the smaller the project the higher the expense ratio's, using a 33% expense ratio for a small facility (less than 150 units) is optimistic, smaller facilities are probably closer to 40%.

Depending on who your target market is, could be an important factor as to where in Tucson you should be looking.