Don't make it more complicated than it has to be.

This can complicate claims payments for the named insured/tenant. 

The challenge I found is that with real estate it seems to be much more complicated than giving people encouragement and cheering for exercising.. 

They will be your BOG (boots on the ground) to be able to view the property.I will say that I did buy my current primary residence abroad and it wasn't fairly complicated, I would just do some things differently than I had initially anticipated if that makes sense.

It would be less complicated if you helped her find a starter home, gifted a portion of the down payment if needed and allowed her to own something without strings. 

It may sound complicated but it's really not once it's all set up.

Second, its complicated and you should get a mentor to make sure you don't accidentally screw it up and possibly get sued. 

Just to complicate things further, a capital call has been issued.  

I mean, is it as simple as finding a few recent sales within a few miles on zillow or is it as complicated as finding a commercial RE agent who I'd have to pay to give me a CMA?

You are adding costs and complications for no benefit at all.