RE: directly reaching out to human resources department for internship@Ralph C. it's because achieving the end goal is usually easier when there is an introduction from a known quantity.

Even if the new tenant checks out fine, they are still more of an unknown quantity than the one who has a mulit-year track record of being a good tenant. 

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/document/PDS/en/035777440230/Emerald, ProMar 400 and Harmony, same thing as above.https://www.sherwin-williams.com/architects-specifiers-designers/products/interior-paint-coatings/paint-coatings-interior#facet:&productBeginIndex:27&orderBy:&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:9&

If retail is something that you want to pursue, increasing quality ($ of house) and quantity (# of transactions) gets you there. 

On the risk mitigation front, no matter the market or how strong it looks, I always assume that it will crash the day after I close escrow, and if that would put me into serious financial trouble, I'm not closing ... and as your example on PHX and your buddy's 4-plexes illustrates, cash flow is not some magic wand that single handedly makes you immune from any and all risks (as some newbies seem to think), though it is an important part of the equation, and the quality of that cash flow is every bit as important as the quantity.

I suggest you do a quantity take off estimate to give you a better idea of cost.

I haven't had to remove a large quantity of popcorn ceilings before, but wanted to provide a note of caution.

Quality over quantity.

@Don HarmonI just bought something in Franklin!  

I like the idea of a known quantity property (no surprises from previous owner non-disclosures) and I know this location is going to get more and more valuable.