ctr70, investing in condos can be unpredictable, what with the Board being able to raise Assn. fees and impose “special assessments” at their whim. In other words, you don’t have CONTROL over the maintenance overhead with a condo, whereby with an SFR, you do. If you’re not particularly handy, just do what you can do between tenants (clean, paint, etc.) and hire a handyman to do the rest. This is MUCH CHEAPER than paying monthly Assn. dues. Also, everything you said about the assn’s financial shape and ratio of homeowners to renters MATTERS when you try to resell your rental unit (when you are tired of the headaches, can’t manage yourself anymore, etc). IMHO it DOESN’T REALLY MATTER if you picked up the unit at a bargain price as you are only buying “airspace.” Why don’t you look at some 2-4 bdrm older homes in SD that need a little cosmetic update for rentals?

Tenants on a budget are not necessarily flocking to the ‘hoods with the “best schools,” even if they have kids. Many use relative’s addresses for school attendance purposes. Trust me when I tell you that tenant families typically KNOW their way around VEEP, magnet programs, zone and interdistrict transfers to get their kids into the schools they want, regardless of where they live.

IMO there will be an endless supply of tenant families in the coming months/years because of evictions from the homes they previously “owned.” Well priced rental houses will be attractive to them. They don’t have to be *newer* or in the best school attendance areas to attract tenants. Keep an open mind and allow small pets, with a deposit. Try to keep the rent at $1400 to $1800 mo. and you will very likely have a long-term tenant.