(End)Unfortunately, HOAs are often ran by individuals who are not the most knowledgeable on regulations, accounting practices, and more - and property managers do not want to intervene for fear of losing the contract. 

If so, any one have experience doing so in a way that does not accumulate a lot of transfer fees?

@Jose Saladin Purchasing your sister’s home as a live-in rental offers instant equity (~$170K), tax benefits, and landlord experience, making it a solid first step into real estate investing.

Plus, we always encourage collaboration, so there might be opportunities for you to get hands-on experience while learning from seasoned investors.Check out the details here: https://levinecapital.com/treasure-coast-subto-meetup-in-port-st-lucie/Would love to see you there!

My most trusted and often used contractor who lives in the area, and is practically a friend is the emergency contact.   

In my experience, the local banks are going to get you better rates and lower fees with their commercial loan products than the "DSCR lenders".

I’d love to connect to exchange ideas and experiences. 

We are so new to this and have no experience.

Maybe get yourself a couple of SRFs to start, run them for a year or two and get some $$ profit AND (more importantly) experience.

Hey, could provide me more details on how these worked from your past experiences?