That's an outstanding idea.

Also a list of questions to ask about their former lease, and outstanding maintenance needs would be very useful.

Purchase prices and real estate taxes tend to be way less, yet you can in pockets, find a great "best of breed" property and produce outstanding rents.  

So I simply said "Here are the names and phone numbers of two local plumbers who have outstanding reviews from customers.

I'm kinda surprised the HOA didn't buy it auction - we did that on a condo unit, then re-sold it to satisfy the outstanding past dues.I think I'd also suggest getting an attorney to represent you, since they already have one coming after you.

That’s outstanding!

I also have an outstanding real estate agent (who also owns several rental properties himself, so he's coming at it from an investor knowing what his investor clients are looking for) who will help me decide which properties to focus on.

However, some are sold subject to outstanding code violation liens, hoa debts, etc.The law doesn’t dictate this, your contract does.  

@Ben Kirchner  A HELOC is a line of credit, just like a credit card, so you only pay interest on the outstanding balance. 

That kind of stuff was happening in the last crash in some markets if the banks had too many outstanding loans and needed the cash.