Investing institutionally on behalf of our fund investors sparked my desire to pursue my own investments and create wealth independently.For my first property, I plan to use the BRRRR strategy, likely with the help of a hard money lender.

Sounds like you are happy with the answers but here is something else to consider: NJ is a judicial foreclosure state so timeline to foreclose is multiple months at a minimum and could even be over a year depending on the tools you have.Is your lender a big institution or a smaller private lender?

.- Institutional Capital & Private Equity: By moving from hard money to institutional financing, you can secure larger credit lines with better terms.

When it comes to the HELOC - I'd reach out to any lenders / institutions you have an existing banking relationship with.

According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, undocumented immigrants contribute over $11 billion annually in state and local taxes alone.

Other complexes have put in a quota systyem of allowing only 10% rental and every one of the copmplexes instituting those rules already have at leats 10% rentals. 

As more people flock to the city due to job opportunities, educational institutions, and an expanding arts and culture scene, the demand for rental properties has risen.

I am starting to realize there has been a significant amount of consolidation in the space by private equity and other institutional investors. 3) From research it also seems like getting financing can be difficult without prior experience in the space.

There is still some paperwork involved but significantly less than traditional lending institutions.  

Personally, I would never live in PHX, but that is all personal biases (I prefer seasons and greenery), and clearly lots of people choose to live in PHX.At the end of the day, I would argue market selection almost only comes into play when you are talking assets that cater to institutional buyers that have to get investment committee sign off.