We have a practice of "one lease, one payment" and ask our tenants to designate one representative to send us a single security deposit and single rent payment each month.  

Is the move to grab good rental deals and hold them until values really improve or will we start seeing high ARVs in these areas in the next year?

The good thing is that this HOA board is made up of 100% investors (since that's the owner make-up) and from my experience these type boards are amenable to constructive criticism, including governance improvements. 

@Todd Dexheimer is right about locking in to a longer term - I'd also look for longer amortization to improve cashflow.

My question is, are there any best practices when using a VA loan as an investor to maximize is usage. 

But those are good practices no matter who you talk to.Good luck!

However, my current goal is to improve my cash flow since the cash-flow from my Louisville properties (which have appreciated a lot) are not that great.

just curious how your deal work. typically when it's at high occupancy it's sold at that premium and not as much upside for buyer to improve and capture that value.

Offer to finance or otherwise make possible some repair or improvement they want to do. 

However, from practical point of view I would strongly suggest against doing so.