I've been very busy for the last couple of years, and am sinking almost everything into this, including emergency fund and all my "play" stocks. 

You need to set yourself up to play by their rules.

Therefor we again where playing with fire and still had yet to be burnt.

You can't prove they caused the issue or played ANY role in it happening....at least not from what you posted

I'm wondering how HOA fees come into play when calculating investment returns and/or cap rate.

I agree, don't tell on yourself, you are playing poker, don't show your hand. - don't accept the first proposal, add to it or negotiate downward , ask for last 2-3 jobs for references.Don't label yourself - don't talk about your successes.

Of course the college will always play an impact on our market, but recently some of the bigger chains have decided our area is worth investing in.

I am going to put my town house soon on the market in the suburb of Washington DC. Question I have is about roof age and AC and if I should change it or sell as is? Roof is fine and AC works and not damaged but they ...

@Chip Marchandin order of most real estate-y to FI to general business:Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat by David Greene (RE)Real Estate Investing Gone Bad by Phil Pustejovsky (RE)Investing in Real Estate by Gary Eldred (RE)Quit Like a Millionaire by Kristy Shen (FI)Playing with FIRE by Scott Rieckens (FI)I Will Teach You to be Rich by Ramit Sethi (FI)The One Thing by Gary KellerAm I Being Too Subtle by Sam ZellShoe Dog by Phil KnightThe Big Short by Michael Lewis

But as I am getting older and families start being built, my lifestyle choices make it hard to participate in family activities because of the dark side of the restaurant industry, "Work while others play".