What you want is an investor friendly Realtor who is, ideally, an investor themselves which is a very, very small percentage of Realtors.Yes, you should find an investor friendly Realtor to have on your team.

Your name and credit would stay with the existing note, which you would keep paying on - ideally yourself with money you receive from the "buyer", because if they don't pay your credit is wrecked and your house is in foreclosure.If you search on here you'll see everyone and their brother looking to do Subto and it's a nightmare unless the buyer has the funds to pay the note off if/when the original lender figures out you don't occupy the property any more and are attempting to do what you want to do, since most loans are going to specify that performance.  

What do you want your ideal life to look life?

And working for a contractor that does flips or rentals would be ideal.

Starting local offers hands-on experience and control, ideal for learning the ropes, while out-of-state investments can provide better returns but require a reliable property manager.

I don't play around with other people's money.As for sticking to Gilbert or checking out other cities around Phoenix, I'm doing my best to look at every city. 

It’s easy to say “just screen better,” but I imagine truly tightening up criteria without killing occupancy can be an art.Since you’ve seen this play out firsthand, I’d love to hear more—what specific strategies have you used to filter out the bad tenants from the good ones?

There are many good locations - I'd suggest that you play around with the "Market Finder" tool at the top of the screen here, included with your pro membership. 

He had other projects that he committed to.Want to play a challenging game?

This clearly has nothing to do with laws, regulations or operating numbers but I do think it plays a large role in the decline of the market.