Has anyone tried to establish an HOA in an existing space?

Both Did ok, but not real well.Decided to get back in the game this summer and look for some new friends!.

and I have been "out of the game" for a little while.

More established brokers and agents will have regular clients for traditional buy and sell that have a higher close rate and getting paid with less risk.The investors meeting you might find an agent willing to take it on.

If 40% is what it takes to get the capital, that's fine, but in my opinion that's pretty rich to the money source when you have 50% skin in the game.

@Purnell Cook it's not a matter of recommending it or not, if you want MLS access in the BAREIS coverage region you don't have a choice, it's the only game in town. 

Having been an out-of-state investor since January 2004 I can tell you that you'd be far ahead of the game in other markets where the economy is strong and the numbers pencil out.As Brandon Turner has mentioned, there are some turnkey providers here on BiggerPockets.

If you take yourself out of the game now, what will you do until that refi comes through?

It's definitley a numbers game.

Especially consider including incentives that pay for timely performance several times throughout the established timeline.This keeps the money coming in for the contractor.