Could you challenge the assessment? 

We were never in litigation with any tenant in 12 years and were assessed minor city fines twice.

As @Seth Borman said, some of this concern can be mitigated with a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) .  

The biggest draw back is the monthly fee and potential special assessments which can make it hard for the numbers to work. 

Don't pay more for a property just because on paper the cash flow looks good.I would make an offer based on your best assessment and if it isn't accepted then move on - there are better things you can spend your time on.

Is the above assessment accurate?

In comparison, the average stay in the single-family and townhouse properties we target is over five years.High HOA fees - Condos typically have high HOAs, plus frequent special assessment if the building is older, making it difficult to get a reasonable rate of return.Condos have a lot of competition - In Las Vegas, condos compete with apartments for tenants, which keeps condo rents low.

I typically stay away from HOA’s there unpredictable and you have to watch out for special assessments for their capex projects.

At least a dozen or more.

So it's really hard to break through as a newbie in commercial (I'm not looking for multifamily, I'm pursuing medical and office, but same idea).One thing I'm working on lately is I've hand selected about a dozen buildings that I really want to own.