I'd imagine your check in/out times might influence what people do to.

You don't want all of your comps in the same subdivision, you may use 2 but the 3rd needs to be outside that subdivision so that price is not greatly influenced by one subdivision or say one builder.If there are no comps that meet those requirements you move further away from the subject within a 2 mile radius, then 3 miles and so on.

If you want money, get a plan, show the deal, support the deal by using other's influence or data that can be proven, not claimed.

If you through enough **** against the wall over a long enough time period your bound to get something to stick.To be honest I thought this would be an interesting topic, one can go into very calculated economic & social influences to support or reject the idea or one can propose it with conspiracy theories regarding socialist oligarchies.

This is one of the reasons, why I have been very curious into researching the Asian buyer influence and its impact to real estate price and appreciation. 

The vast majority of your retail buyers will use Fannie Mae financing which you have no influence on.

FYI, for your reference below is a description of both courses I've been looking at.Basic Appraisal PrinciplesThis four-day course will introduce you to real property concepts and characteristics, legal considerations, influences on real estate values, types of value, economic principles, market area analysis, highest and best use, and ethical considerations.

I've also heard great things about "Think and Grow Rich" and "How to Win Friends and Influence People", both of which I've found and downloaded for free online.

Depending on how recently this occurred, this may be influencing your approval for a loan, though one late payment should not be all that bad.  

I think I need to do some more networking to find the right people up here so that I may have better influence around me.