"Deferred Maintainence", please elaborate?

I would recommend fix/maintain what the properties need.  

Is the HOA not a board organized by the owner and a few others to maintain the property?

The not so obvious ones like folks who build, install and maintain traffic signs and signals.  

My personal 20% is setting up and maintaining systems and processes to find and manage properties efficiently, time management so I can put family first, having clearly defined goals, having the discipline to wait for the right renters and buy the right property for the best price possible and continuously learning.

Tenants are paying power and trash and I'm paying water and sewer (which is pretty expensive in this area for some reason) and I pay for the lawn to be maintained.

If you lived in ATL, knew the market like the back of your hand, and could maintain local control over your investments there, I'd say go for it ... but you don't live in ATL, you live in LA, so my advice is invest in LA at least starting out, where you have home court advantage.

Many condos have "special assessments" to cover bigger rehabs so they can maintain the appearance of lower cost of ownership.  

For example, I would buy a poorly maintained duplex worth $250k after $20k of rehab at the appropriate discount ($230k or lower), paying 3.5% or ~$10k down and funding the rehab from other personal savings and loans from family.

Good rental history, and is maintained.