The upside is you don't have to follow arbitrary rules of the HOA.

With taxes and HOA fees that equity would need to keep pace with these fee increases.

I purchased a condo nearly 1 year ago using my VA home loan, the total amount of the loan was $326,600 at 4.25% making my monthly total payment with HOA, tax, and insurance $2,292.

I have a condo that was cash flowing nicely up until about a few months ago ( $1250 Rent -$802.21 PITI & HOA=$447.79 cash flow)  In short I was self-managing it since I lived in the same area, but have since moved away.

@Timothy M. 675$ hoa.

Anyway the argument with condos is the HOA fees.

I currently own a townhouse where my mortgage plus HOA is $1,665. 

One of the problems I'm seeing in my research are the High HOA fees associated with many of the areas.

Once you sell a new condo, you have to manage the HOA for a time and have a contractor's warranty that can last years depending on your jurisdiction that can kill the deal years after its complete. 

Well, you are responsible for your own units, but if someone upstairs did something that damaged your unit and the HOA won't cover it, you can possibly submit it to your insurance for repair and they may try to abrogate the damages against that unit's owner, or you can sue the owner of that unit for redress.