Are you trying to minimize your risk? Reap a big reward? How?
I find properties through Redfin, then send listings to our agent (who is practically useless except for the fact that she can gain access to the keys of the unit). Once we identify something good we put it on craigslist to see how much we rent we can get. If it has good demand, well buy it. We go back to craigslist to find tenants (and contact the ones that have already emailed us).
As for HOA, the most we pay is $300 a month. We bought one house for $115,000 and rented it for a year to a section 8 tenant for $1580. Be careful when dealing with section 8, they aren't the best tenants, but they have the most steady rent checks.