Population increases are still occurring at a solid rate as job growth continues and the sunshine is out 350 some days a year.Are you familiar with Mesa and the condo markets?

Also, its growth doesn't make great sense to me.

However, to buy my first one I may need to drop 20% for the down payment if it's a SFR (since I couldn't use an FHA loan).Doing that will almost wipe out my current cash reserves, which means it will be a slow grind back to another 20k or so (probably 10-12 months).Conversely, I suppose I could try the fix and flip strategy to earn some cash at a faster rate, and then be able to buy more rentals at once, but I am more averse to this strategy because I lack the requisite knowledge/skills/tools for rehab and because it seems a bit more risky going into a potentially problematic property (obviously any property could be problematic but with a fix and flip you KNOW there are going to be problems).So I guess what I'm looking for are some thoughts as to the most intelligent way to utilize my current cash reserves (about 20 - 25k) in a way that doesn't immediately stunt my growth but also with respect to my risk tolerance and knowledge/skills (or lack thereof).

I recommend you locate your investments in just about anywhere in north Dallas County and any other growth areas.  

Agree with @Steve Vaughan - If the debt is low-APR, your cash can be better deployed to investments with greater return than 4-5%.The general advice ladder is:Build emergency fundPay off high interest debt rapidlyDeploy cash into savings and long-term growth investments with good ROIContinue to service those low interest debts for years, with excess cash deployed elsewhere.

I will continue to keep networking with as many folks as I can and try to stay positive and focused- even through the rough patches ;-)  I wish you continued growth and wellness in your recovery!

Now I don't believe that it will follow the same exact path as Bushwick did, but I do see some growth happening in the not too distant future.  

Because as you grow the big banks will not make additional loans, but this small bank will !

Not yet, but the inspector said that he's sure it's there because of all the photos of actual "green" growth and the moisture and damp wood rot throughout the house where there had not been rain or snow this winter.  

I'm searching for a program, possibly a government backed/grant program that would loan money to purchase and rehab a property with a portion of debt forgiveness in order to make it profitable for the rehabber yet keep the purchase price low enough to bring in end buyers in a neighborhood that is prime for growth but needs a little help.