I can appreciate that more information is needed to truly examine the deal.

The right way to examine it is how much does this property REDUCE my homeowning expenses. 

You insert @ and start typing the persons nameThe combination of using this site, connecting with others and using the internet as a whole will help you with your real estate investment aspirations.I'm taking my real estate exam in March as well.

In our market with Robust title and escrow companies IE the actual title insurer like first American or fidelity etc they are also the escrow company and they have their own title plant.. they don't rely on title examinations at the court house.

How to examine Land quality, soil/ mineral use, if land is in sink hole, liquefaction zone risk

The evidence you have is a tenant’s statement which needs to be more detailed and then examined to see if he has enough knowledge of the situation and if his statement is damaging enough (to a defense) and if he’s willing to provide a written statement or testify, and if his testimony will stand up to cross examination.  

Just be sure that if you are going to ask, ask everyone that reaches that point in the process.However, you might re-examine your approval process.

In other words, in my opinion, his business model does not lend itself to needing this type of self examination and therefore he is unable to comprehend the benefits of it.

i always like to pull the jurisdiction's hearing examiner files for applications and approvals. it can give you an excellent idea of timelines, requirements, common issues, community pushback, variances and vesting, development credits, etc... you can make a public records request for these files going back a few years, and settle in for a night's reading - these are often very interesting.... no part of these records are exempt from disclosure, btw. all the best!

There are several articles that surround the subject of "what improvements add the most value" (like changing garage doors) but I would caution you to examine your COMPS first.