I ended up going out of state to Nevada since my strategy is buy and hold rentals with a good combination of cash flow and appreciation potential, and I thought California was too high priced vs the amount of debt I was willing to take on. 

Assuming the borrower actually completes the BK, the result is that the borrower no longer has a Personal obligation for the actual debt....the mortgage against the property is not affected in any way. 

Non-Recourse agency debt, bank loans, bridge loans, loan assumptions, and etc. 

If there is barely enough capital to cover closing costs, you are one sneeze away from pneumonia (vacant month, unexpected repair, bad debt, move out, etc.).

It appears you have a very low rate and it would be expensive to replace the debt at that interest rate. 

The HOA had taken possession of the property and executed a rental agreement (significantly below market) with a tenant to recover the o/s HOA b) This rental agreement between the HOA and tenant expires at end of this year. c) Now that I own this property via foreclosure purchase, can I get this lease terminated (HOA does not have standing).

@Ronnie Tejeda if you hadn't taken possession of the property (i.e. bought it) then you really shouldn't be paying it unless that was something you agreed to.

They will give you a quick 1. preaproval or 2. denial (hopefully #1:-) based on your oral facts like your credit score, debt to income ratio, job stability, years at this job, reserves.

Knowing where you want to go begins with knowing where you are, and with that in mind I reached out to a national bank just to see what kind of mortgage I could qualify for and how I would best improve my current situation in case I needed to use conventional financing.My credit score is mid-700s, about $15k in consumer debt (which is coming down).

The tax lien (also called a fifa) exists prior to the tax sale and is recorded in the county's lien records - it's an unpaid debt secured by the property.