I figured it would be too much of an expense and a hassle to figure out the source of the "misunderstanding,"--  live and learn I suppose.  

How would you go about confirming that I'm not misunderstanding what's allowed "as of right?"

Much simpler and there is a reduced chance of misunderstanding between the parties about the roles they play in the specific project. 

I may be completely misunderstanding what you're trying to do though..

I have no idea of this listing realtor (or that one) based their asking price off of: 1.) comps, 2.) whatever they had to tell the owner to get the listing, 3.) a misunderstanding of how you look at investment property, 4.) who knows. 

I was looking to build capital now by playing the bank and then selling the rights to collect "rent" to an actual bank.Or maybe I am misunderstanding you?

It's done in an LLC.In my opinion, you can make things so complicated that no one is happy and misunderstandings abound.

Avoid things that could make it is different enough to cause misunderstandings.

Am I misunderstanding my duties? 

We always had a policy where my wife was not allowed to have conversations with out tenants so we could avoid possible drama, misunderstandings, lies, arguments, etc.