If the contractor knew how much influence you had they would be jumping over themselves to fix it.

It is often true that the appraisals influence what the buyer and or seller decide to offer and in this way they affect the CMV, however it is the amount that they agree upon.Now come in the other factors, such as how much the financial institution is willing to finance.

There is a lot out cash out there right now, and many people are finding it right in their own sphere of influence!

Unfortunately (actually it's fortunate), it's a lot more complicated than that...The President has a very limited ability to enact or even influence policy without the support of the House, the Senate and (to a lesser degree) state and local lawmakers.

I hvae two articles you should read since you're at this stage in your career:What You Can Do Right Now To Prepare To Be an AgentHow To Select a BrokerageStudy, study, study and build that sphere of influence.  

I'll mention too that those motivations need to be self imposed by an owner and not influenced by misinformation a buyer may introduce.A property that is not exposed to an open market for a sufficient period of time doesn't meet the definition of market value, but is a distressed sale, if a buyer approaches and owner and they agree to a price, then that price IS the perceived value, need to consider the seller's opinion as much as the buyer's.

I can go through about 90% of these basic aspects of RE and identify, directly, the influence, applicability and cause for every deal I've done, I see the same thing for the deals done by others mentioned here, every single transaction is based in the understanding of RE, not what most study here.

However, certain factors can influence one area of real estate more than others.

Also it makes a difference is the house is outdated.If it is functional but outdated it will become an expense for the buyer down the road with upgrading to sell to the next buyer.For instance if a home is 1 to 2 years old and you buy you can get away with owning a few years and reselling without pouring a bunch of money into it.If you buy a house that is say 5 to 10 years old and resell in a few years you will most likely have to spend substantial money updating for resale.On the bpo's now they actually make the 3rd party bpo broker/agent (who does not have the listing)sign an electronic from when submitting the report that they have not been influenced nor have they had discussions with any parties relating to the value of the property.The buyers broker,buyer,listing broker,and seller all have an interest to see the sale happen.The BPO person getting paid for a report is just an objective 3rd party.You want to make sure and not overpay for a property.For instance you put in an offer and wait 2 months for acceptance.Meanwhile the market has declined 6% since then and your deal is no longer that great.It's critical to know with a short sale how many mortgages and liens are present.The more to negotiate the more of a long shot of getting approval from all parties and hitting the value needed.

I do not drive an flashy car, but I don't think I will let the fact that I own rental properties influence what car I drive.