They are more commonly full guts with major mechanical reworks.  

A common strategy is to keep California properties in your personal name with insurance, then put your Texas properties in an LLC, keeping the states separate.From a tax standpoint, it doesn’t matter much whether you own the rentals personally or in an LLC—your depreciation, expenses, and bonus depreciation still flow through to your return.

A few questions I’d love feedback on:Are there common traits among sponsors who lost investor money?

If you already have contact info for current and former tenants, you could ask some survey questions like:How responsive is the property manager to maintenance requestsHow professional and respectful is the communicationAre the common areas and grounds well-maintainedIs it easy to reach someone when neededOverall, how satisfied are you with the property management If not, see if the PM company is willing to distribute it on your behalf, though keep in mind that this may affect the honesty of responses. 

They come under an HOA because all of those private items are what is known as 'common area' or that everyone in the development has a 'common interest' in the areas. 

It is common since carriers want to be clear who it is that they are actually insuring - it is actually pretty hard to insure a property where the ownership is unclear. 

Even if the window/doors are not a common element, I would reach out to the HOA and request a copy of the contract between the HOA and the landscaping company.

Yes for sure, super common. 

They're not buying turnkey; they're hunting for distressed properties.It's that "BRRRR" method (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat) that seems to be the most common path to creating value right now.

Overruns are common, especially if you’re new to managing contractors or doing the work yourself.Ask yourself: is your time best spent on labor, or on finding the next deal?