If you want to own bankable real estate that will truly improve your overall financial situation the boring approach of working hard, saving as much as possible, having the foundation of a solid career and investing slowly and wisely succeeds much more often than rushing in too quickly and taking shortcuts.  

I am approaching this casually at the moment, but it seems that the number of multi-family homes in the Phoenix and surrounding areas are very limited -- I guess it's a difference of culture or the fact that land is so cheap in the southwest that there isn't much demand for a duplex/triplex/4-plex.At any rate, I'd like to hear from anyone who has invested in this region.

For those of you who have cash, what have you found is the best way to approach this?

@Vanessa Peters I like the approach to leverage your equity and invest in further investment properties.

My wife and I are quickly approaching 2019 and our start to investing.

Your approach makes complete sense. 

I like doing a quick title search on property before I approach owners.

So I would be wary of this approach.

I really don't know more than the basic safety and mitigation approaches for asbestos, but I would look closely at your tenant's overall situation, how reliable they seem, and if they have a history of causing issues.  

Some areas the rental market doesn't support commercial build if using income approach as value..