@Allen Collier - I used to show my apartments while work is getting done and many people are unable to visualize how it will look. 

You need to get on a plane and see whats up , or have someone you trust to do a visual inspection . 

Many times the deposit is simply verified visually so the client will use their own funds for that and full payment can be made with only exchange funds or the deposit is refunded to the client (although this creates it's own boot interpretation issues).

The lottery ticket is more of a small stakes play given the risk dynamics in the real estate industry. 

This is great visual to learn from.

Visualize success and you can't help but reach it. 

Aka a deal here, a deal there, 1 reasonable seller knowing they need to exit their ownership but that dynamic juxtaposed with a continued sellers market everywhere requires perhaps some extra tact & servitude to get the deal.

This dynamic is causing a shrinking supply of the most affordable housing solution in America, at a time when the demand for affordability has never been higher.

I want to give him a loan, but am not sure of how the dynamics work for securing a lien on the property.

The appraisal process is just one spoke on the overall “deal wheel” (personally, I visualize an “Old West” wagon wheel type).