That said I do have an older wagon-style compact vehicle with an already-tired interior which can carry 5 toilets at once (ask me how I know) or a few doors or a few full 8' sticks of lumber at a time.   

That is a correction of colossal proportions.

Since it's family and you want them to get into the game, why not split ownership of the asset either:1. proportionally based on the total asset value2.

If you can take a proportion of your cash and dedicate to strict appreciation (like the stock market), that would be a good move. 

It is a scam of major proportions.

Doesn't seem fair to the dog, no place to run and exercise or the owner, slobber, hair and smell everywhere.Maybe it's just me but I've noticed an inverse proportion to the owners income and IQ vs. the size of the dog.

It may not work if your lender needs to have a Replacement cost policy to close the loan.You will need to get an Agreed Value policy to avoid being penalized for being underinsured.If you do not get the Agreed Value endorsement and you have 80% coinsurance (sounds like that what has been quoted), the policy can penalize you proportionally for being underinsured.  

I do understand that sf is a huge factor, but so are the bedrooms, stories, garage etc.I trust there must be some form of industry standard, more or less, to figure out what has more weight, in what proportion etc...

Lately, I'm seeing more houses (I drive around looking for deals too) are appearing and the deals closed lately haven't been even remotely out of proportion like a month or so ago.

Go out during a big rain storm and see if there is a stream of surface water landing or pooling in that area.In some cases the settling may result if the house is build on clay soil or improperly compacted soil.