I am particularly unfamiliar with local regulations, so this would be a good place to start.Thanks in advance for any comments!

It's a "secret" lien in the sense that the Government doesn't need to take any action to make it valid.

Will pick up HOA rules and regulations tonight from agent.  

This notion is further corroborated by a government study, which showed that 52.4 percent of renters ages 25 to 34 lived in single-family homes, compared with 43.4 percent in apartments.That said, it is a good time to invest in single-family homes as rentals and those that do could be rewarded handsomely.

Otherwise the lender will be limited by many rules and regulations and disclosures, and he may shy away from lending $ to you.All the bestAmir

As an example, 2 years ago, I was negotiating on an office deal that had a new stable government backed 10 year lease, and didn't reach agreement.  1 year later, it was still sitting on the market.  

There's a regulating tax called Euribor which determines the interest for inter-bank loans in the European Union; and this tax has been really low for quite some time, manly because of the financial crisis of 2008. 

This is a statewide organization https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/renters-stri...They're really rallying support for putting regulations on real estate investing throughout California and there are a lot of states that are worse. 

Also, Chinese government only gives title to owner for 70 years, after that the government has the right to obtain the properties back. 

DaAnne Smith , welcome to BP.If you setup a non-profit entity, you will get some benefits such as early bidding, etc from government agencies.