There are call-outs for specific hardship exceptions like inheritance and employment relocation, but approval for these exceptions are also at the discretion of the board.At the time my partner inherited the property, we were mislead by the then HOA Board President into thinking that given the manner in which he came to ownership and the fact that we live out of state, he would be granted the ability to hold the property as a rental into the future.

Then have a series of exceptions for certain kinds of signs or a process for getting a sign permitted.  

I don't think there is any clear cut way to tell a good tenant from bad except for time.

Like the other posts said, if your intent is apparent, the IRS will make an exception.

Except... when I am buying of course since I know my team can rent/lease it out quickly in most scenarios as long as we can bring up to standard quickly.

I am willing to do whatever I can to help asking nothing, except knowledge transfer :-), in return.

Depending on what neighborhood in Atlanta you are in (mostly north of I-20 with the exception of a few suburbs on the south side), the market for flips is tremendous.  

Once we know at what point to contact them for an interview, what are some of the vital questions to ask? 

No one can determine where you should invest except yourself. 

I have never had a problem with it except right when Covid hit and the new tenant coming in (newly being deployed to my area) had it cancelled so I had down time.