@Joe Kim is on the right track with his #2, but off target.

Given your focus on equity and scaling for future development, targeting properties where you can force appreciation through value add renovations seems like a natural fit.

But unless they advertise the seller finance (and be careful as most are really bad deals), then you'll need to talk them into it.

I advertise the houses that way, even if there's an appliance or two that the previous owner has left in them and I don't mention them so that the people coming aren't (or shouldn't be) expecting to find them. 

The target property is around $1.5m.

Use this time from now until July to really pin point some target areas and property types.

To scale, I’d focus on defining financial goals, targeting specific property types, diversifying, and building a solid network.

We target insurance and corporate bookings as well as travel medical professional agencies. 

Have you thought about targeting mid-term rentals, particularly given the med school proximity, or STR given the hotels nearby?

There are some specific areas that I love helping investors target for multi family properties in PHX.