So when you're asking "can they amend the rules", what you really mean is "Can the Board of Directors amend the rules that govern myself and the rest of the HOA".The short answer is "Of course, as that is one of the jobs that you and the rest of the HOA ask them to do."

She was working and paying her part of rent, going to school to get a higher certification; the older son had a job, and the two kids, aged 14 and 13 at the time, were doing well in school.

I am 23 years old, have been working at my current full time job for 4 months now.

Nice job!

My goal is to quit my day job so that I can home school my kids and spend more time with them. 

Only way we can probably get in another property this soon would be if we had a child( the need for more room) or the property Is real close to my job which from what I’m told by some lenders would be a good enough reason for the underwriter.

If you can lease it quickly, you know the market, you know how to get to restaurant decision makers locally, then it may make sense to do it yourself; however, if the leasing function cuts into your time for your primary job, then probably makes sense to outsource it. 

I'm blessed to work from home with my current job and that has allowed me to spend more time with my family, but it'd be fun to not worry about our finances as much and be able to take more trips and vacations.

There is an argument to be made that a land contract or a subject 2 structured strong enough could cross the "risk of loss passing" bar and that the bundle of rights you have in controlling the property is enough to make it equivalent to having a deeded interest in the property.We've done 1031 exchanges for land contracts occasionally. 

Due to the nature of my career (I'm an economist with a tenure track job), I have fairly idle summers.