Most of these were a little rough, cough, cough, and required the best of my 8th grade photography class lessons to manipulate the depth of field to get the shadows just right, so to not draw unwanted attention to the subtle property nuances my underwriter would rather not see.

A lease is a right to use and possess, not technically an "interest" since it does not grant ownership, only the rights of use and possession.A subtle distinction.

They sound typical (certify hvac, roof warranty, etc), but they added a few words here or there that was subtle enough that we missed it.

A subtle distinction?

But anything more subtle just seems to fall on deaf ears.Two real examples (both on Oahu) that I think are relatable to a broad range of people:1.  

Most of these were a little rough, cough, cough, and required the best of my 8th grade photography class lessons to manipulate the depth of field to get the shadows just right, so to not draw unwanted attention to the subtle property nuances my underwriter would rather not see.

If you couple in forced appreciation in properties in such markets, then you get both short and long term profits.If you try to invest for both right off the bat, well that is a unicorn hunt as described above ... you are far more likely to find a snake oil salesman con man staple a horn on the head of a donkey and sell it off to a unicorn, and since you believe in fairytales you will believe him as he tells you whatever you want to hear just to make the sale.A skilled RE operator can make great profit in either type of market, but you give up too much control as a newbie going out of state, so your best bet is to work with the opportunities that your local market has to offer and learn to invest hands on and local rather than chasing out of state unicorns.Am I being too subtle?

Many deals are going for above asking (as early as 2013 I was offering over asking), but in my opinion there are some subtle signs that the real estate market is starting to soften.

That subtle deciet bothers me. 

Then you can talk / subtle interview them.