My personal thesis is to avoid the HOA altogether, problem solved.RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS can still run with the land even if there is no HOA, placed on by the developer.

Being in the industry for over ten years and running over 500 machines myself I can only say they are bad dudes. 

@Jun Lee Solo 401k is a great vehicle for investing!  

A SE walk through would run around $600-1000 to assess it and would be a good starting point honestly.

Try Wealthability run by Tom Wheelright:  https://www.wealthability.com/

A big part of the puzzle is making sure you run a solid cash flow analysis.

The problem you may run into is the lower appreciation rates compared to the South.Considering Commercial Real Estate:Have you looked at mixed-use properties?

I'm using a software that runs on A.I. helps me capture organic leads, automation, my socials, A.i. follow up and has it's own crm.

Run a good business, keep you properties in good repair, have good paperwork.

I would just take into account that a lower down payment will mean a higher monthly payment so be sure to run the numbers conservatively in order to ensure your STR revenue is able to carry your monthly payment with this higher mortgage cost.