after my first two quarters being an HOA board member, I think it would be wise to research the property management company a board has guiding them.

I  am not recommending cheap materials and cheap workmanship - after all, when flipping, we are not just renovating a house, we are creating someone's home.I agree with Aniekan Udoh, stay in line with the comps.  

Def need to stay with the numbers.  

So i would like to use the mother-in-law unit [part of the house] for my stay and rent 1700 square feet to a middle age or senior couple.  

If we're close we'll usually write an LOI quickly to lock the property up but if we're way far off I will generally ask the seller/agent (we try to negotiate direct to seller as much as possible and stay away from listed properties), if it even makes sense to write it up. 

This seems absurd given there is already a supply in the area.Anyone with experience that can guide on a normal price range?

Welcome to another fellow NY'er feel free to stay in touch and keep the network alive and good luck on your investments 

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.$20K just seems so much to invest on a unit that I might get $250 more in rent, if lucky, and good tenants that will stay awhile. 

They are then faced with gambling that rates will stay low until they can refinance or sell the asset.So how do forward commitments work?