Then you can self-manage and learn all about tenants, contractors, etc. 

From there, you have to decide whether you want to be a landlord or hire a property manager.

Even competent 3rd party management can only mitigate, not necessarily address many of the issues that arise when owning lower tier properties & population growth alone is not a magic pill. 

My first thing is to start built relationships with realtors and property managers.

We're an appreciation market, not as much of a cash flow market here, unless you're putting a large down payment or actively managing STR's.Buying out-of-state can get you more cash flow, but the tradeoff is less appreciation (usually), and cash flow can be eaten up by maintenance and expenses.

On the other hand, Tucson’s landlord-friendly environment could make property management easier, especially with your familiarity with the area.

We run into this especially at out parcels in grocery anchored centers, and our users generally can't make a ground lease work for the business case so the next best thing does tend to be the BTS or we often do Reverse BTS deals where the majority of the building design and management etc is done by the tenant. 

As the owner of a property management company in Washington, I have encountered this situation before.

Hi Cecil,We're based in Redding as well and operate Authority Property Management.

I've learned a ton about syndications, partnerships, funding for construction, the development process and so much more about managing consultants than I will ever care to admit.