In Oregon here in my new home project.. its a negotiation selling agent writes in their fee and we can accept or counter. 

Are drive by appraisals a thing, if so, when are they used?

And as you stated it has become more and more obvious to me that everything he proffers is to drive his own personal agenda of bias, greed and acquisition.  

This will continue to drive up the prices.Sales - Median $/SF by MonthThe $/SF also had a slight drop MoM.

I did read the the teacher GNND program is different and not thru HUD and can be for any home you find, but I don't know if they will pay for half of it, it may be just down payment and closing assistance. 

You would do better in 30-day t-bills (right now ;-)The hopes an investor might have (if you purchased a property like this) are: 1) inflation to drive rents up, 2) inflation to drive property appreciation, and 3) mortgage rates to drop to refi at a lower rate in a few years.A lot depends on what someone thinks about the longer-term prospects of neighborhood they're investing in.

Go driving looking at whats out there. 

It may not be possible, but if you're going to go the appreciation route (versus cashflow), then you're best off targeting 5+ unit properties where you can force the appreciation by driving NOI.

Hope this drives home what should be prioritized when selecting your construction lender.

I’m looking at the high rises near Lakeshore drive area.