So pick what fits your current situation best.

I cannot believe the amount of feedback surveys I get on my listings (good area or not so good area) where the buyer does not like the area or does not feel the area is a good fit for them.

Individual states may further tighten the requirements as they see fit, but may not loosen them beyond that which is allowed by this specific federal law.  

There is no one size fits all plan.

I would like to avoid the hard money lenders, unless I found a deal that would fit the criteria.

HOA fees include garbage collection, water, fitness facilities, insurance.I'm on the fence about paying an appraiser to appraise the unit.

Very rough but fairly conservative estimates: CAP rate= 5.5 %, fits very close to the 50% rule (~48%), cash flow/initial investment= 5 %, NOI ~ 17k, etc etc.

I changed careers to better fit the kids' hours, and transitioned to buy and hold for our family instead of an agent for other people.

LOL) we didn't know what roles would fit us best so we tried multiple different things with moderate success, but we all eventually found our niche within our partnership.

Something like:Over the course of the week of 4/29/13, we plan to make some improvements to your property such as XXX (or repairs, whatever wording fits).