New paint and if needed new floors with new baseboards and  a new ceiling fan or two and a couple new lights or kitchen faucets will make the unit brand new.  

I frequently travel much of CO and sometimes Seattle due to my work, though.I have not considered house hacking, but I will have to further educate myself on this, thank you.

Some people aren't big fans of having a HOA.If capital is an issue I would definitely suggest saving up a bit more before you start.For my market ( San Antonio, TX ) I typically suggest people having 25-30K in the bank before they seriously consider locking up a deal.

I'm not sure how far south you'd consider but I'm a big fan of the San Antonio, TX market I operate in.It's getting hot but the cost of entry is still lower than the other major cities in TX, we have a diverse economy, and MASSIVE appreciation.

I am a fan of subway tile backsplash and quartz counters. 

While many feel title insurance is not worth the money because they pay out relatively little in losses as compared to the premium, I believe that's because they spend much of their income in the search and examination process.The closing of a purchase is frequently handled by a title company as a matter of convivence for the parties though it can be closed by a separate attorney with the title insurance issued separately. 

Then we had the joy of random smoke alarms sounding about 2 or 3 times per week (frequently at 2AM). 

I frequently hear investors complain that there are no deals and that they wish it was 2008 and there were cheap properties everywhere.

I need to up my forum title game.The proverbial "ShT" will have to hit the fan soon....

If a bathroom fan broke, I would Youtube "How to Fix a Bathroom Fan", and that helped expedite my learning/experience.