The truth is, you could read 100 books and still not know enough because certain things need to be learned through trial-and-error.

An obvious option would be something like 1pt per month (or some variation on that), which I've seen hard money lenders do, but I'm wondering if anyone has any other ideas on how this could be structured?

Propstream has a 7 day trial and Propelio has a 14 day trial.

Or, being aware of population growth in certain pockets of the state and the cost of living variations throughout the State.

The variation in price is a function of their business model: where are they securing their inventory and at what cost, what are their labor, marketing, and other business costs, and what profit they desire.To your specific question, "yes," the bank can basically offer whatever number they want.

You do not have to; it's easy enough to do on your own with some time and trial and error.

I think 45 days is a reasonable expectation but there is a lot of variation from the norm. 

@Danny Del Pino I feel most resourceful calculators/software do come at a cost, but a lot of platforms do offer a free trial.

Since AirDNA doesn't offer a trial, I'd love to speak with folks who are currently using it.

Worst case scenario is you are put on criminal trial for mortgage fraud.