One thing to watch out for is if this is a apartment converted to condo, sometimes developers have very low association fees to attract buyers.

The delayed financing exception allows you to pull cash of your home as long as you can source the funds used to purchase the home and pay off any debt associated with the purchase.

And make sure to account for the following expenses:1) Mortgage2) Mortgage insurance (PMI or MIP) or FHA Risk base3) Property Taxes4) City Taxes5) HOA (Home Owner’s Association) Dues and Fees and Assessments6) Insurance   a) Property Hazard Insurance (0.3-0.45%)   b) Flood Insurance   c) Earthquake Insurance   d) Umbrella Insurance7) Vacancy Rate (usually 8% - the equivalent to one month a year, or 5-6% if multifamily and/or if experienced, if not use 8%)8) Utilities (you’ll have these if your tenant is not covering them and/or during vacancy)   a) Water § Sewer § Garbage   b) Electricity   c) Natural Gas   d) Propane9) General Maintenance (usually 5%)   a) Upkeep § Landscaping   b) Snow removal   c) Repairs   d) New Appliances   e) Make ready10) Capital Expenditures (usually 5%, higher is the property is old and obsolete, less if fully rehabbed and all mechanicals and roof are new)11) Property Management (8%, even if you self manage, your time still has value and there might be a time when you'll want to be completely hands off or you'll not be able to do it, vacation, retirement, etc.), including...  

I guess all investing groups have those.Well, I kept in touch with them, but in the meanwhile I also approached my local Real Estate Association.

If it is a beach property and you have a beach associations sometimes the beach access rules can change.

A general solution to this is to have a mixed portfolio with unleveraged properties to cover those excess expenses.Also consider the quality of the neighborhood you invested in, because if it is poor, you may have permanent costs associated with vacancy, etc.

There are a lot of upfront costs associated with subdivisions and it doesn’t fit into my focus area.

You can make great money and there are also some challanges associated with it.  

You should Check out the "Chicago Creative Investors Association" run by Jane Garvey.

I have always used O'Connor and Associates which is probably the largest property tax protest company.