you live and die by your sub contractor relationships.. this is the key in my mind.

Especially in a high interest rate environment where cash flows on long term rentals are muted and there is significant capital required to purchase and list on airbnb.I live near NYC but would invest out of state in an airbnb / landlord friendly state.

He scaled with quality, going full-on luxury top-shelf.

With that said, I've done some research on the market and found the following information helpful in my considerations for Phoenix that you might find helpful as well:  Demand for both buying and renting property remains high due to the city's strong economy and growing population. 

Those that own it can be harder to sell as the cash flow from the business will cover the debt service for the business, but not for the real estate.Example: I had a very high-end assisted living facility on the market. 

If you are using it to buy a turnkey property which needs to produce cash flow to be considered a viable deal how does buying turnkey(Little to no cash flow) combined with HML(High interest only debt) make alot of sense financially? 

you can use a DSCR loan if your DTI is too high for conventional. 

(Assuming quality of service doesn’t decrease.)No matter how you look at it, that is a ton of money.

It's acceptable as an area though the flips I saw weren't great quality.  

Looking to construct a duplex at a reasonable cost but also quality for long term durability.Thank you!