In less than 2 minutes I Google searched "therapy animal certification", clicked on a link, and was all the way through the process and to the payment page to register ANY dog as an "emotional support animal".

Food is an obvious suggestionVape/Smoke shop Massage(we have lots and lots are near gaming parlors)Acupuncture A mini mart.

The biggest hit points you need to know walking into the conversation:Your DTI (debt to income ratio)Your general credit scoreThe type of property you're going to be purchasing#1: Your total debt will show up on the hard credit pull they do when you apply for a mortgage, don't try to massage the numbers here.

I would also shy away from doing things that require massaging information to a lender.You mentioned that she owns the property outright.

Personally, I post on facebook when I am done with a rehab, sometimes I show how horrible a property is so that everyone knows what I am doing.We have a "Wine Therapy" every month to network with friends where I happen to let them know that I am doing real estate and if they happen to have a 401k from a past job, they can get a fixed rate of return on their money that they have invested with me.I have a small REIA every month where I give other investors some knowledge.

I thought about sending her a bill for all of the therapy.

It varies state by state on what level a real estate broker/agent can help a seller with a short sale on the residential side.In some states brokers/agents simply submit a contract and attorneys for the parties do the rest.In some states brokers/agents can help with workout options but in other states they must hold a mortgage license.There is also Federal requirements and disclosures brokers/agents must use when listing a short sale.The government calls it "the short sale streamline process".I call it a bunch of red tape that isn't needed which creates more government oversight and bloat wasting our tax dollars.Depending on loan type if the property is FHA then they can only accept a certain amount off of appraisal.A few years back it was easier to massage the bpo using different strategies to get close to your purchase number.Today more banks are using agents with experience doing bpo's and also the banks have controls in place to almost eliminate any manipulation by investor purchasers on value.Another point is if your area is declining by 1 percent a month and it takes 3 months for an approval by the time you close you have lost 3% in value.How you approach a short sale and an acceptable number will depend on what you are doing with the property.Margins and hold times are different for assigning,flipping,and rentals.

They virtually disappeared for a couple of years, there's a lot of cash, money is cheap and good deals are not as frequent as banks are controlling (managing) their inventories to massage their books over several quarters...

You can make any investment look good if you massage the numbers enough... and if I were you I'd steer clear of that property and find another realtor.

Perhaps therapy can help.