The beauty of notes is that you are not on the hook for maintenance and repairs, property taxes, HOA fees, and insurance.

Know the active mortgage liens and it's remaining balance, IRS liens (if any), property taxes owed, and HOA liens.

I am hoping that someone can help simplify these and tell me which would be the best deal .1.House price : 250,0002.Credit score : 7503. hoping to buy with no money down/very small down payment4. would love the monthly payments to stay b/w 1,100 to 1,450FIRST PRE-APPROVAL (PRIVATE LENDER)Estimated Principal and Interest –__$749.55Estimated Home Owners Insurance-__$80Estimated Property Taxes-_$170Estimated Mortgage Insurance-__$115.19Estimated HOA -_$0________ (If property has HOA this can affect your Pre-Qual Amount)Estimated Total Monthly Payment-$1114.74Based on the pre-qualification amount in this email the estimated Down Payment __3.5__% of Purchase Price which is $5950_.Based on the pre-qualification in this email your estimated Closing cost is $3702___.

If you need references ask your HOA about the last contractor who worked there.

For my mortgage, taxes, insurance, etc. my monthly payment would be only $1460 per month on this place with no HOA.

That's where a detailed TIC agreement comes in handy (there are attorneys who specialize in tics)  If two separate buildings, I'd imagine each owner repairs their own but still have an HOA fund for common area expenses. 

Renting out the condo is not part of our plan because expenses added with our consistently increasing HOA dues won't bring in much (if any) cash flow.

This is because the financial health of the condo HOA becomes a factor, and generally your % ARV is going to be lower for condos.

Lots are pretty easy to move, but a few of the things you  will want to know is zoning, are there utilities on site already, is the lot hooked into city sewer or does it have septic, any code violations/liens, is it in an HOA that may require a minimum sqft house to be built or use a specific builder.

If you haven’t filed a return I know they historically used your fixed expenses (eg taxes, hoa, insurance) to determine the profit/loss.