That pre-empts the taxpayer coming to them and lying and saying they don't owe anything, but you ignored the letter or refused to sign it.

The responsibility lies with the HOA as far as maintenance and repairs deemed necessary.

Technology changes fast nowadays.

I know it's harder than the mindset I'm in right now, but shouldn't I just borrow what I need to demo/build (roughly $1.5m) from someone who has capital lying around, and pay that back (of course with interest/juice/premium, whatever you may call it) upon completion of the project?

I work in IT (Information Technology) and enjoy my job most of the time but what I don't enjoy is the time it takes away from my family.

If they are willfully ignoring the lease and lying to you then what else do they plan to keep secrets about and lie about in the future .

Your not only going to get a better deal, but you can avoid a lot of shady realtors that lie cheat and steal to dump a house.

As to protecting that valued relationship with your friend, know that technologies used in downloadable forms just are not sophisticated enough (yet) to get you to think through the kinds of critical  "what-if" scenarios that typically don't get asked without the prodding of an attorney.  

Numbers never lie.

Anyone who tells you it is misinformed about the power of a cold chisel and a maul or has something to gain by lying to you.