I made the mistake of letting someone get in one of my first units that was a bit off the 3 times, they were great tenants very kind and enjoyed their stay and experience with me, but could not afford it when I increased the rent on them, which is something you will have to do because of rising insurance/tax costs.5.)

As others mentioned can you afford the negative cash flow?

The rental market in Phoenix has seen significant rent increases over the past few years, which has led to affordability challenges for many renters. 

You can increase returns with leverage (that is a mortgage) or with value add (renovations, additions etc).I think cap rates (rents minus expenses divided by purchase price) on commercial and industrial is higher with less work involved, but its more expensive than I can afford--so I know next to nothing about that land.

Tenants simply can’t afford them and move out.

MAYBE if owners like yourself weren't so cheap, PMCs could afford to pay their best employees more to keep them:)

In fact, one of my clients last year closed on a house hack near Keystone and turned a 5 bedroom single family home into a 6 bedroom house, and he is living in one room and renting out the 5 other rooms individually between $1,300-$1,400 per month per room because of the lack of affordable housing options up there. 

How do I access a portion of that equity to fund the purchase of 1-2 more MFR properties in more affordable markets like OH, IN, MI, PA, TN, or AL?

Shared housing provides affordable, flexible rental options for young professionals, remote workers, and students.As shown above, co-living properties have more demand than traditional two-bedroom units and appeal to a wider tenant base.2.

For max $200k you can really only afford Hilltop, Franklinton, Linden, Driving/Deshler Park, Whitehall.