I live in flagstaff, so totally different market, but I grew up in phx and have several friends who are real estate agents down there. things are crazy down there, if I had just bought a rental property down there in 2010..... oh well. anyway I have a good friend that specializes in forclosures and short sales and understands the reasons why someone like you might not want to work with an agent and if you want his info, let me know. My guess is that as an absentee buyer, you would be behind the 8 ball and miss out on the right proprty at the right price without an agent in today's market, three years ago? totally different story. For very little work, my friend will be able to send you some new-to-the-market listings as they come to the market and he would probably be able to set up a discount commission schedule that works for both of you. My friend doesn't need the money, he is already a mustachian entrepreneur , he does it for fun because he loves it, he is not like a lot of agents that are looking to close a deal so he can make money. My advise is to find an agent that will help you find the right property, they are experts and have privileged information that the average person doesn't have access to, and in this hot rising market with such limited inventory, that can make all the difference.
Cheers,
Scott