I'n sure there are some HOA's without these protections, but since we're talking about commercial real estate the properties owners are also likely to be of a more sophisticated nature e.g. corporate owners, business owners, sophisticated investors, etc. 

Contact them and see if they would take you as a sophisticated investors.

And as you get experience as a landlord, I would guess creative or owner financing may be open to you (especially with solid professional background and sophistication)....Finally, if you get interested, there never seem to be enough folks with tax expertise for the smaller investors (too small for the major tax firms and too complicated for the strip mall tax franchise chains and kiosks).

Maybe some of the more sophisticated investors could chime in.Having said that, I think you should just put offers in until you get one. 

At least in more sophisticated and hotter markets.

You can tailor this approach depending on the sophistication of your seller.I don't know if this would work much for stabilized properties or off the MLS but it works for me.

Transparency is established through sophisticated systems begging with conducing 3rd party home inspections to live private access of the financial and physical condition of the asset.This is a good starting point, please feel free to PM me for more details and information.

I would think some of the folks on this site would want to talk about what it takes to be a commercial broker ...If I was not so Old and in my end of the business yours would be the next thing I would do..for  a few reasons1. the obvious compensation2. dealing with pretty sophisticated folks.. they don't drink wine out of a box.3. total control of the deal.. and client loyalty 4. access to bigger deals and throw in a large commish for a equity stake...

Include some sort of one page "Current balance: $0, available balance $200k" documentation in the offer, with your name visible but acct # and address blacked out.Or you may want to keep things simple and easy to understand for the seller, whom you very well may be more sophisticated than.

In an effort to re-train myself on how  I view finances, I'd love to know how  the savvy investors, and financially sophisticated would do in the following scenario:How would you invest 500K to create a monthly cash flow of at least 4k?