Will you be living in the multi or will it be pure investment?

If looking purely for investment purposes townhomes and single family homes zoned for short term rental are an option and may provide a more predictable occupancy profile provided it is properly managed. 

Proforma numbers are generally pure pipe dream, so figure out the real numbers based on what they give you.

If it were a pure investment property, HOA would be a deal breaker.

At which point I would focus purely on being made whole.

It's much easier to work with deals like this if you're approaching them as a pure investor.

Although we made a little (~$5,500), it was pure stress and we learned never to compromise on certain issues.

In pure accounting practice, ONE journal entry is used for the transaction (call it move-out) regardless of how many line items are required (say damages, past-due & deposit refunds). 

On a purely pre-tax basis my monthly payments to own would be about $5,000 (putting down 20%).

The Final Cost:Purchase $206,000Holding $7000 (Cost over and above our previous rent through August 1 when I rented the basement, includes 3 months when it was vacant)Remodeling $45,000 (only about 10k was contracted work, the rest is pure materials)Hours of my life - Maybe 2000?