@Dale Linenot in a million years.the whole point of investing in RE is to build equity over time.  

Is there a cost effective, including insurance, way to park over the stormwater basin.

If it is stabilized, CoC will look better in Year 1 but won't increase as much over time. 

We are looking to dive back in soon when prices come back down over the next couple months/years.

So what happens if the expenses are more than you have inside the 401k or it would be over your next contribution limit. 

Deals can get better over time.

Nothing worse than going to jail over a lovers quarrel and then getting evicted!

You also mention the low fee of $50 / month for HOA fees and though it may look very cheap on the surface, you have no idea how the communities financials have performed over the last few years and you may have HOA fee increases annually.

Overall I think paying off a mortgage isn't the way to go. 

I just recently had Pricelabs take over pricing but I think to get started I would just keep it simple.