The credit ended up being more than the repairs on both of those items put together - the water heater just needed a new board and gas valve, and the HVAC furnace needed replacement but the AC unit was just fine. 

We My first advice is contact a board certified real estate attorney to review your specific situation. 

This is typical in our industry and why a lot of owners come on board with us.ALL of my owners have my direct cell and know they can call me any time.

Given the possibility of collecting was very low - I took the same approach as you, throwing good money after bad wasn't worth pursuing, so I sold at a big loss and chalked this one up as a big learning experience. 

The May 2024 market report from the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR) shows that the median home price in the City of Austin rose 11.6% to $608,438 over the past 12 months.

At the beginning, you will need to be the association board until all condos are sold and they form their own board.2.

If you can't do MTR I guess I'd sell too.Unless you can get on the Board of the HOA, or appeal to them, or.....?

Also wanted to buy this property as it was a board up directly across from my first investment property so by improving it I helped the neighborhood values and keeping the area up.

In Pennsylvania (where it appears the poster is) there is no official challenge board to challenge appraisals.

Since eligibilty is often hyper specific to a particular board, it is essential to get direct validation from that entity prior to even touring a property.