You don't say if you've been studying this for a few years, or just started to think about it.

It wouldn't make sense to screen someone when I may not even have what they are looking for.As for application fees, you need to study your market and determine what's common and fair, then adjust based on your own business model.

You can also lose a lot of money in real estate if you're not careful.I've done a massive amount of study on gold and silver before I started putting money into it.

Selecting what to do has much to do with you, your ablities, goals, credit, money avaialble and personal preferrences, there is no better property per se.I suggest you study your tail off, get very good grades and stand out among your peers first and not be so concerned with investing now so much but pick up the basics and techniques a little as you go.

Look at mhuniiversity.com and invest in the home study course or a boot camp.  

I'm still working on that home study course: "Market when you're well, market when you're sick, market when you're hungry and even when you're not.".

I have not yet done the population/job growth studies to understand why the area is growing so much; is it just the further expansion of Phoenix metro?  

Hey TravisDo yourself a favor and study this site.  

Hello,I'm based in Los Angeles and work in film & music.

Hard money can be hard to pay back if your flip does not go well.....I suggest you CONTROL the property with a delayed settlement with right of possession, and during your study period, fix it up a little and and sell it at public auction, assign  your contract to buyer using an assignment agreement.The auction will be a "reserve auction", as is for all cash.Example:  if your contact is for $100,000 and you feel it is worth more, do a little cosmetics, contact  a friendly auctioneer, market the property (make arrangement with the auctioneer for a referral fee), set a reserve and auction the property.