My current realtor just got his license and although he works for a very well known and established firm here in AZ (part time), and he was a rental property investor back east for some time, he is new out here and he doesn't really strike me a "go-getter". 

And you want to be like your hero MSOOTKAUG, and build an empire, then establish your self among the filthy and powerful while secretly building an army of robotic minions to take over this rotten planet?

I would hone in on your target market(s) and begin establishing relationships.  

My understanding is that one would simply cash-out refinance right before the balloon payment is due and pay off the owner finance balance and then begin making payments toward the refinance note, or establish a HELOC.

I would look for deals in not so established places that are coming up like West town, Pilsen, Roscoe Village, areas that values are going up in in terms of rentalsalso as Henry said be very careful of the HOA if they are not investor friendly you will end up taking a loss

The long and short of it is that you contact a CPA or tax attorney to establish the exchange for your sale.  

-The house won’t pass fha inspection requirements....easy to establish-FHA buyers typically can’t close as often as others...they are going fha because they have marginal credit, DTI ratios and/or a small amount of cash-They had a previous fha contract, the appraisal came back lower than the sellers want...an fha appraisal sticks to that property for 6 mo.s

Once you have a solid base you can look for a property to buy & hold or rental properties to establish a cash flow.

Hello, this is my 1st out of state investment in Mesa AZ area and am looking to establish contact for ongoing maintenance.  

The plan is to establish this rate by auction whereby if there is a lot of interest in a property the rate would be bid down, and vice versa.