But at least make that an educated decision. 

I don't require my agents to join NAR and in fact dropped my membership when I opened my own brokerage.If the situation made sense, I wouldn't necessarily require an agent to join MLS, but it's such a basic tool of the trade, I can't imagine someone who is active in the business going without it.

The HML/PMLs generally have more "flexible" or "creative" lending terms (higher LTARVs and longer amort), but the trade off is higher interest rates.

Also, I strongly urge you not to make a habit of going into transaction planning to trade terms based on inspection report findings.

Always trade offs, especially depending on how long that buyer is looking to keep the property, or refinance.

If i was starting from scratch, i'd probably start by developing a job skill, probably in the trades like electrician or plumber.

I'm supporting the new car decision.

I am stuck in a little analysis paralysis because I am unable to make a decision when calculating the ARV of the property.

And then get to a decision quickly.

Easy decision.