This type of situation is called a "life estate" and isn't too unusual.

What makes discernment difficult is the age of our buildings (100+ years old with unusual building methods, etc.)Thanks so very much for this advice.

Work for a lender that does a lot of 203k/HomeStyle renovation loans, or work for a GC or architecture firm that works with a lot of clients using 203k/HomeStyle, or hard money fix-n-flip financing for that matter.It's not at all unusual for a LO that does a lot of reno stuff to have a full time employee that does nothing but the reno side of stuff.

My market is a small town market and it is not unusual for me to know the person renting a house from me. 

I don't think any of them are doing a sufficient job for unusual properties like mine, in using these factors to help arrive at optimal pricing.  

It is really unusual to have a unit vacant for 6 months.

OK law may have an unusual quirk that a local attorney would have to speak to.FWIW, I would have been out of this deal already.  

I told her to watch for trends of the smart money buying into bonds....I went on with the rest of my theories and she maintained an unusual blank stare at me until she had a moment to speak up (I talk quickly).

There are some unusual exceptions to the one FHA loan at a time.

Exclusives for investors is unusual.