I got a major equity stake and was president.. ran that for 6 years.. 50 million HML in Bay area.disaster struck in 1989 to 1990  and I sold out in 1992  remember earth quake and war.Bay area took a huge hit then.I then through a sheer luck.. met my future bizz partner around the pool in Maui.. and I got in the timber business in Oregon I lived in Napa valley and commuted form 92 to 2001.. that was a GREAT run and one of the best business I have ever done.went into buying foreclosure in Oregon in 2001 it got uber competitive when trustee info become available on the net.. moved those funds back to HML  ( in those day I just wrote a letter ot the state and got a Mortgage bankers license no test required)  ran that company up to 35 to 40 million then got my postier handed to me in 2008 to 2010 and then put together a company to buy distressed assets.. ran that up to 350 homes form 2010 to 2013 got bought out and had a nice liquidity event.. now I just build houses in Oregon and Charleston and do JV deals with folks in 12 states.

Perhaps I should involve a cpa for such inquiries?

(I use tools to do this.)And, you can take the pulse of a market every 6 months to gauge where it might be going by following job growth, migration trends, major employer actions, affordability, etc.I don't buy purely on appreciation potential. 

I do not do this, but do not know of a major reason as long as you can electronically transfer the money into another account after they do it. 

Nothing major, just cosmetic stuff.  

@Mark Ainley It's in Logan Square - Fullerton and Kedzie is the nearest major intersection.

If the condo becomes non-warrantable which could happen from a major assessment, mismanagement of the HOA, too many people not paying their HOA, litigation, etc, the value can nose-dive as new buyers can't get low-down financing for the units. 

USE A BUYER"S AGENTWith FNMA, on the vast majority of their listings the buyer's agent can bypass the listing agent and submit offer through Homepath.com. 

In some of the areas that I invest in, they have a major impact on the price of much of the areas real estate.  

However, if you have a good GC you can trust, it will alleviate the majority of the stress and time requirements.In summary - you can do it like I did, but it will be frustrating (although worth it imo).