It’s hard to compare the walled garden of a chain hotel with a house in Oakland, no matter where it is.

But, think about the cost of the roof and how often it has to be replaced, and maybe the cost of paying a gardener to mow the lawn, add that up over the lifetime of a roof, divide by number of months and see if the HOA fees really make sense.Find something else with no HOA fees, where you can be sure of the actual costs for the future and be in control of your property, where the only laws that can affect your property are put into place by a government or chamber of commerce where there are people involved that normally are a lot smarter than the homeowners who get on the board of the HOA with some weird personal agenda and zero property management experience.I kept my condo in Davis, CA for about 3 years and couldn't wait to sell it. 

Louis area: QuiktTrip, Sonic, Papa John’s, Schnucks, Dierbergs, Horstmann Brothers, Delmar Gardens, Dirt Cheap, Mobil gas stations, Aldi, Fresh Thyme, Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Amazon, Save-A-Lot, Walmart, Big Lots, Lowes and Home Depot.

They even do extra stuff around like the house (repairs and helping with the garden).I haven't raised the rent since they moved in.

we have individual storage lockers for  each apartment, laundry room in every building, private parking lot, and if you count this i just bought them patio furniture and put it out our courtyard and plan on having someone come in to plant a vegetable garden ( we have a couple seniors who miss their garden and alot of our students are vegans)

If they're contiguous lots, you could put in gardens for the tenants, or a yard or play area, but it seems like even then it could be a draw for people to hang out in, and would be a pain to maintain.

They had 3 generations living in that big old home & their veg garden & home made slivovitz was amazing.

She likes to do gardening so she has two garden hoses attached to two outlets. 

But, all you have to do is get a list of handymen, plumber, electrician, gardeners, etc., you can call if there's something that needs fixing.If the market is tight for buyers, it is probably also tight for renters and you could probably get a good tenant in there easily.You just need to be picky when you are screening. 

One of the room mates did mention during the tour that she did but heads with the landlord sometimes because he hired landscapers to tear up their garden/didn't allow gardening, etc.