We are particularly interested in areas allowing a great lifestyle (good food, spending heaps of time outside, close to the beach, quick and easy access to great cities, etc) such as California, South West of France, Barcelona, etc...We currently own a 2 bedroom apartment (paid cash) close to the beach and the main English schools in Malta.

The sellers also needed to find a new home to live in so the extra time benefited them.My two cents is to not be discouraged about your offer as you do not know the seller's situation and the contingencies on the other offers.  

Account Closed The main problem I've found with college towns is your property mgmt options seem to be very limited.

Yes and the commercial loans mainly look at the financial situation of the property, not the owner.

Financial freedom is my main goal as I grow my own business so I can spend everyday with my family and because of this new profound love I have for real estate, I know I will achieve it.

It seems to me that getting the right team in place and making sure your numbers (total acquisition costs, rehab budget, ARV, COC, ROI,etc) work out are the main things to solidify here. 

Insurance is going to be your main issue, as it is costly and having been on three boards, we were risk averse to changing it or losing it as I recall insurers bringing up details from bbq to pets, etc. and when you have a claim, really it seemed a struggle, and if they can get out of paying they will..even got dropped once...Maybe have the master policy professionally examined to see what is allowed and, worst case, explore if you can get legal help to work out a mechanism to hold the association harmless (be it your own policy, plus umbrella, and maybe indemnify the association for any claim)....some great advice here and some firms may be more willing to write the policy.

My autopsy of the situation tells me we did 3 main things wrong:- We were overleveraged (heresy!)

Hello all, I ended up here from Mr Money Mustache (because of course I did). I bought a house this past May, and haven't had to put any money into the mortgage because of the room mates I have with me -they're paying ...

We also have one person who is a main point of contact for the deposit and rent payments.