It's difficult to learn through so many set backs but I'm glad you've chosen to share the experience with us.

We have not chosen to go there, partially as we have not had any of those types of things yet, but just food for thought.Dan Dietz

A guarantee to lower the price is simply an invitation to raise the price as high as a seller can, with or without adding any value, and gamble on an appraiser bringing in as high a value as possible.  

Detailed scenarios for each potential route chosen and why.

Good luck and you've chosen the best vehicle for researching and learning.

This seems like a reasonable gamble.

Many people are gambling on the market.Fund managers are having a party with cheap money floating around everywhere as well.I'm very conservative and young, so if I have to wait until the end of the year or into 2014 for a correction to buy back in that's OK with me.

If I make 9% in the market I'm doing a great job, but if I make -9% I'm screwed, so that seems like a huge gamble compared to a guaranteed ROI. 

Things like that should be pretty minimal in the grand scheme.That's assuming the HOA in question has good financials and an adequate reserve fund, so if they do suddenly find out they need a new roof, they don't have to hit the owners with a big assessment, but that's a whole topic by itself.The real gamble is how long this guy is going to be around.  

If you've chosen these two just because you like the Indy market, I'd recommend expanding your search to other markets and focusing on reputation and customer service/PM quality.