What has everyone been doing to deal with this reality?

The conclusion I've drawn is that the major "skill" of the nationwide "guru" is an ability to tell the naive wanna be real estate newbie EXACTLY what he wants to hear, although it just isn't anywhere near reality.

.: @Carlos Ptriawanyep great points.appraisals depend on comps and comps depend on appraisals... until someone comes along with a bunch of cash and sets the new comp. and in reality the appraisal is following the highest auction bid which makes new market 90% of the time in market where DOM < 10.Sample of these market are some zip code in Hawaii.

In reality it may lead you to some kind of shell company with no contact info or 'friend of a friend with a license', but it's at least a good place to start

The reality is, there are no bad investments, only inexperienced investors.

It might be more useful to set your sights on the reality of today and tomorrow and end of the month.Things such as learning to collect the rent, learn to place good renters in the property, etc...

Appraisals of $50k to $100k are common.The reality is most So CA RE does not pencil out well.  

I currently work with Ace Management and Reality and have worked with them for 3 years now.

Assuming you do live there now, that means you can rent it out for 3 years max before this deadline (in reality less than 3 years including prep to sale) Do check with a tax professional.

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!