You have to know the rules of each HOA before purchasing.

The desert have many mobilehome communities, however, there are a few that are managed well by their HOA and are popular with seasonal and annual residents.

I also had no idea at the time that management companies would do more than management and so to have a funnel ushering unsuspecting landlords into a bind to force a sale out of them to then list it on the market (but I'm glad to have found this out before getting interested in Real Estate myself that's for sure, I can't say my landlord didn't deserve it – as he too is a crook lol falsely claiming the rental was his "primary residence" this entire time and thereby never registering it with the HOA here). 

We average $3500 a month and minus HOA of $446, we clear $3k a month.

They are also the chief litigators for HOA's delinquencies.

Lender's basic qualification rule: Principle, interest, taxes, insurance, HOA, PLUS any other debts, should generally not be more than 45% of your pretax (gross) income.  

Usually you have to deal with HOA and other associations when you deal with a condo and townhouse, which some times it makes it unpredictable for an investor to foresee special assessment or raising costs.

All of these factors are very important, just like buying a rehab, location, condition, neighborhood, etc.Due diligence is so critical, there are so many ways that you can get nickled and dimed to death; property taxes, city fines, county fines, HOA fees, past due water or electrical bills that stay with the house and not the former owners.

Taxes are 1500 per year and hoa fees are 150 a month.

We have been renting for $1400/month, which just gets us a bit above, without properly planning for Capex, however, paying HOA dues that cover exterior I know I'm not going to (shouldn't) get hit with a huge assessment (fingers crossed).