This site has been instrumental in getting me from 0 properties to where I am today. 

If you rent in a high-crime area, I wouldn't suggest it.

With that said, I've done some research on the market and found the following information helpful in my considerations for Phoenix that you might find helpful as well:  Demand for both buying and renting property remains high due to the city's strong economy and growing population. 

Despite the fact that the market has dropped significantly both in rent and price, I still think the market should be considered high risk/high reward.

On-line Auction Foreclosure Website.

From there they port out to all the normal other sites.

I wouldn't focus singularly on individual city initiatives/projects and would recommend focusing more on fundamentals.

Second, I expressed concern over the appraisal rental analysis not being high enough and was told, "We are at a 1.22% DSCR ratio so we are good.”That was on Dec. 5.

My recommendation would be to get approved as a Landlord, contact the director's office and request that an inspection be completed before a tenant is selected (sometimes they will do this as long as you select a tenant within 14 days - which you want anyways), and have an online application and screening resource in place.  

So, your focus may need to pivot from high rental cash flow to little to no cash flow as a rental with an appreciation upside.I would recommend taking your $150K to $200K and securing a solid equity position in something that will cover its expenses and maybe provide a small cash flow, but then is poised to appreciate nicely over the course of the next several years.