Phoenix is a huge city, and there are still growth opportunities within it. 

I used to live in the city and the taxes and water bills are nightmares.

I like investing near big cities, Indianapolis, Atlanta, etc. 

Cosmo - I personally don't know Phoenix well, but if I had to do this in another city I would look at income levels, crime levels, and population growth (if you can) by zip code and/or area within a DMA as a starting point.

I hired a surveyor,  engineer and ran through the process with the city myself. 

So far the biggest challenges for out of state investments has been finding reliable contractors or help to complete projects on time and under budget.

Originally posted by @Jenna Waites:I know this thread is a few months old, but just FYI for anyone finding this considering Resimpli, the biggest issue I see with them is that their report options are TERRIBLE and they offer 0 customization to the metrics they do provide.On top of that they are a completely closed system so you can not pull your data out in any way to create useful reports or integrate with any other system.

The biggest challenge we faced is the property's proximity to a railroad, which has proven to be an impediment to the sale.

I'm looking at all kinds of properties, all over the city.

@Corey Curtin has been a stellar agent for my clients.I heard things that involve the city like zoning/permits can take a while in Birmingham compared to other AL markets so I'd be cautious of that.