For example, if they presumably want to make improvements to their new investment, improving common areas, etc., can they / are they likely to force through a special assessment that will apply to all owners, through the HOA board that I'm sure they'll control?

In the letter, we tell the tenant who to make checks payable to, where to deliver the payments to, the date the rents are due and date the rent is late.In the introduction letter we tell tenants we intend to improve the property and we tell tenants that we want them to contact us and report every maintenance issue asap.As for taking over any property, there are always a hundred improvements that can be done within the first few months.

Don't simply think through total rents you'll receive minus your PITI to the bank, but rather you'll want to factor in management fees (if any), Condo Owner Association fees, maintenance and repairs, other utilities, and a capital improvements set-aside for the inevitable things you will need to improve over time.If you're looking at the income minus these expenses and still coming out with a cashflow rate that you are comfortable with, then the only question left to answer is:  are you comfortable with the risks associated with Condos?  

Since you don't own the property you cannot make any major repairs or improvements to the property without the owner's consent because if you make repairs and don't pay the contractor(s) then the contractors will file a Mechanics Lien against the property and the owner will be liable to pay the contractors.If you do repairs to the property and you don't own the property the owner can sue you for destroying the property.Should the seller decide he (or she) no longer wants to sell the property because he either wants to keep it, or he can sell it for cash on the market then he will sue you in court for whatever his attorney can come up with and you can get sued just because the contract the seller wrote has some b.s. that makes in not valid.It doesn't matter whether you are right or wrong when  you get sued because when you receive a Sheriff serves you with a lawsuit you now have to make some serious and hard decisions in regards to whether or not you want to pay an attorney $50,000 to $100,000 to settle the lawsuit that often takes up to 5 years to settle in court.How do I know all this?

But today, you have a considerable amount of equity built in paydown and appreciation to access, and you can use that equity to improve the current house and purchase more.Many people find suitable alternatives to manage a handful of properties from a distance, so even if you move eight hours away, you can do most of the managing yourself by building relationships with contractors and real estate agents, paying a small fee for them to help as need requires.Only sell if you know the choice is mathematically correct, rationally made, and leads to more property acquisition now.

The lower priced per unit buildings tend to never improve more than enough to cover issues.

You'll still be negative CF, or so close to it you'll be waiting for it to happen every month.Seller financing should be used as a way of improving a deal...not making it worse. 

I have 5 years of home improvement construction experience, so determining whether to write an address down came naturally to me.

My question is this: should I try and get a tenant in my rental as fast as possible or spend the upfront money to improve the home so as to have it appraise more?

I may have to wait until I close this deal to do it, however, I am genuinely working toward improving my credit so I can just buy when needed.Hard money is an option and then just hold it until the time is up but that gets very pricey very fast for each monthly payment until paid back.I have also been looking into the promissory note idea.