We accepted the program during the recession to guarantee a portion of the rent.  

@Abram Howard HARP is a refinance program specifically designed to help people who were negatively impacted by the Great Recession.

I called 100+ banks by me and found banks during the great recession willing to work with me.

If the cabinets are sound, paint 'em, replace the countertop, knobs/pulls (and add them to the wall cabinets)... not sure the sink and faucet really need to replaced (Bar Keepers Friend can clean them up nicely).Interesting that base cabinets are recessed panel and the wall cabinets are raised panel, but I doubt a prospective tenant will notice/care.

That's what happened post 2008 recession. - you will always have prime tenants, which are much easier to manage than others. - I'm quite sure in 7-10 years the value of you condo will be in a different category than it is now, and you will be damn happy you didn't sell it. 

Let me tell you that the country is littered with people who way overpaid for property before the recession and now want that same money back but that just is not going to happen.

@Roy Oliphant  I know its totally counter intuitive.. but most of my best deals have been when I insist that sellers retain an attorney to represent them in the transaction.. this on its face at least in our states takes any issue with unconscionable profit off the table. .. and of course a lot of what I do is development land and we can double or triple properties values in as short as 120 to 360 days with an approved plat or knowing where zoning is going to change as was the case in this one were we made a big hit.. and it could go the other way .. recession no one wants to buy dirt and we lose our ***

What's the best way to evaluate if this is a good investment given that we would be putting down $1.2MIs this a good time to buy in SF, I read on another thread about unemployment being super-low but that it could coincide with a mild recession/correctionAny other ways you can think of - that help my sister get an apt and help me from an investment perspectiveThanks a tonPratik

There may be national trends and recessions but the housing market has always been and will always be regional.

The Great Recession, about 1/3 of my life ago, the United States of America copied this model with our quantitative easing programs led by Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve.