The important things to consider about HOA fees is that they usually include some utilities: Water/Sewer, Trash, sometimes shared amenities like gym, clubhouse, pool, and they are saving you the time and headache for property maintenance: lawn care, tree timing, roof, siding, etc.

My wife not comfortable putting our house as equity, therefore we are utilizing other options to fund investment properties. 

Utilities, including common area will also be different.

Or find a property that is under-utilized or has below market rents.Otherwise, you could also do the OPPOSITE of the great advice from @Jonathan Greene and buy a property with multi-bed units or live in the larger unit and rent out the smaller unit - while getting a roommate(s).

That's just the max they will pay for rent plus utilities.

Be prepared to show a lease, some utility bill, or credit card statement showing you live somewhere else.

Shared laundry meant a fifth utility meter and high water costs that I paid.

In my analysis, I utilized a 40% assumption as a baseline, though I acknowledge that this may underestimate expenses for a park with the characteristics you’ve described.

GRM and cap rate both looked great, but when we pulled utility records, we found heating costs in winter were brutal because of old, inefficient systems.

Many places only allow utilities in the owners name.