You could qualify for FHA financing as an owner occupant with 3.5% down, but the property will also need to qualify through self sufficiency.Live there a year, hopefully improving it along the way and saving, saving, saving. 

First-time buyers will be forced to wait on the sidelines while they improve their credit score and debt service ratios, or save up a larger downpayment.

Hello my Name is Ray,I recently made some home improvements to my single family home.

Institutional players can wait years for the market to improve.

Plus I know it's cared for and I can access it freely and make improvements.

We first made obvious improvements to the facility - added an automatic gate, cameras, new website - and then we started tackling rent raises on units that were the furthest below market rate and/or the oldest tenants.  

I have a working condition tub that seems to be peeling (view photo) I want to avoid replacing it because it seems to be stucked to the wall so the removing part will be very hard and I was wondering if anyone had experience improving the looks of it or if there's a workaround.

Some HOAs/condo boards underestimate the HOA fees needed for upkeep or there is a natural disaster, and then bill you for a one time payment to make repairs or improvements. 

I was by myself and I live frugally so I thought I could work on improvements over time and sell the property for a profit.

In addition, rent increases will improve the cash flow situation   The BP spreadsheet on buy n hold returns shows by year 8, the total cash flow for coastal CA markets was in the mid range of the cities evaluated (and the spreadsheet had property tax mistake for CA and therefore under calculated the cash flow).