My priorities are finding a company with a strong track record in:-Tenant screening and placement-Rent collection and financial reporting-Maintenance coordination and responsiveness-Competitive management feesAny insights or recommendations from experienced Lafayette investors would be greatly appreciated!

If you're just starting out, learning your market and doing your own due diligence in the areas where you want to invest in helps which will set you apart from the competition. 

The competition should be on possible solutions to a tough situation as was presented in this post I came across. 

Alternatively, many owners are currently motivated and might offer competitive financing.These would not be value add properties, which do notwant, but those in good maintainable shape.

Yes sure, but there are great builders and it is irresponsible to make such a statement.The modular duplexes I am going with provide higher quality insulation and finishes and structure than you find in local stick builds.There have been studies showing modulars are sturdier than stick builds, and you can certainly achieve price efficiencies for the reasons stated above.For an investor with a volume goal (such as my 100 units in 3 years goal) in an area with low or expensive inventory or high competition, or for investors in an area with a lot of ongoing construction leading to high labor costs, or somebody that wants to run a strategy that churns money fast then modulars are a great development platform.

I am also in AZ and know that competition is fierce, but you have more than enough equity to work with. 

I'm interested in factors like market demand, competition level, and overall growth prospects. 

If you are somewhere ultra competitive, it may make sense to have it regardless!

Ok thanks for getting back isn't it highly competitive right now though? 

Because of this, sellers in my price range are limited to cash only buyers which truly limits the competition.