I wanted to create a thread, almost like a miniature study/survey.

In a survey of high school and college-age people by software firm Jobber last year, 75 percent said they would be interested in vocational schools offering paid, on-the-job training (WSJ).”And this idea of blue collar career interest was recently discussed on the All In Podcast, which includes a group of prominent Venture Capitalists.

As a general comment - it's always good practice to do a rent survey on your own and see what conclusion you come to, with any investment.

Would you recommend hiring a private forester to survey the trees?

The best route is using licensed foundation companies and engineers to conduct work surveys to determine what needs to be done and then having that work done by licensed companies with warranties. 

We'll consider both, usually a midterm rental would have history of rent, however you mention it doesn't, so we'd use an appraisers market rent survey. 

I've just reached out to a company that does surveys. 

From what I've seen, owners haven't been happy - especially when they're in the process of filing a class action lawsuit.Have you seen the results from this survey?

In the Seattle market, condoizing costs around 15K (survey, site plan, recording fees, legal fees, HOA creation and coaching from lawyer, setting up utility sub-metering if required).

You probably won't have survey requirement because you can re-use your old one, and usually you get a credit for title insurance if refinancing within 2-3 years of your original purchase.