In other words if they are all acceptable places from an investing point of view, change your perspective and look at the other things they have to offer. 

I was approached by Avantstay and wondered if anyone in this forum has had experience with them from owner point of view. 

Realtor.com describes how it works as part of your sale:“It tells the real estate seller you’re in earnest as a buyer . . .

They can't assess all the subjective data like overall layout, view from the living room window, the dogs next door that bark all day, the width of doorways, size of individual rooms, quality of kitchen cabinets and appliances, etc.The best thing to do is study your market regularly.

You'll get a feel for the age of the neighborhoods, the vitality of the commercial buildings, the ease of location, the closeness to jobs.The markets you're describing are more linear, and usually have lower capital appreciation.

Would love any input you would have, especially from Canada, but anyone really.I have helped dozens of buyers and sellers in these communities and can speak from both a Realtor and investor perspective, but not an owners view 5.

I’m debating whether to furnish the shared areas or just stage them for photos and viewings.

   : ) THX . (200K-300K)  Casa View in east Dallas. 

View them as bankers who better know how to do due diligence.  

In my view they made the correct decision and if you spent significant time recovering this cost, well I think we all know what that is.