I want to invest in some rentals in Mesa Tempe area. 

That's the absolute first place to check, as @Jon Holdman says, and you don't need finish plans just some idea on what you want to do.Basements tend to be damp and cooler temps.

He gave me a shot in the arm by saying, If you can deal with annuals you can easliy handle short tem.

I received a temp c/o and started on the list of repairs.

Recent repairs on 4 family.Sept-- repair screen door--costs 8.00 for screen 1hr labor, replace light fixture cost 18.00 1 hour laborOct-- Water leak in roof Temp patch to valley--- costs paint 68.00 (5 gal) roller covers 6pk 9.00, drywall compound 0.00 (left over from previous repair) 10 hours labor, professional repair to slate roof and replace 2 valleys 750.00Nov-- Repair toilet-- rebuild kit 16.00 shutoff valve 4.00 short flex line 4.00 labor 1hour.If I had to pay for labor on these repairs it would have driven the price way up.

The previous guests froze the compressor by setting temp to low, I suspect they broke the washer as well (but it was old and in the firsts weeks of a newly purchased home)I picked up and delivered laundry for the second guests until new machine arrived.

Check out Birmingham, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Gary (IN), St Louis, Huntsville, Phoenix/Tempe/Mesa, Kansas City, Memphis, Little Rock, Indianapolis, Harrisburg (PA), Greenville, Jacksonville, Tampa, Houston, San Antonio, Little Rock, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Dayton, Cleveland, Ohio, or other secondary or tertiary markets.

Might be worth it to have a licensed plumber and electrician familiar with local code to take a loo for any glaring mistakes.On the plus side for getting it approved, in case something happens and you need to make an insurance claim, it's another out for them not to pay.I don't think use as a temp rental has much to do with permitting since you usually need the local municipality's permission since they're all setting quotas. 

Even with no furnace the interior temps were around 50 through out the winter,  with only 2 exterior walls and those walls being short walls, percentage of exterior walls is pretty low.  

The typical main Tem members are Attornies, real estate Agents, CPA's (or accountants), inspectors, General Contractors, and Handyman people.