The purpose of the energy assessment is to identify opportunities for improving the energy efficiency of the home and their cost-effectiveness.The assessment must be conducted by a qualified energy rater, assessor, or auditor using whole-home assessment standards, protocols and procedures.

I contacted the power company, and they directed me to the tax assessor's office to inquire about obtaining a separate address for the pool house.

Their 12-18% return is a total lie.

As a remote investor, do I need to physically be there to meet the county assessors? 

Tim - I think the appraiser may look at the assessor's office information to see the square footage, bedroom count, etc...

Lie to them and say you need this so that you know where to send them their security deposit.If you do sue and win your judgment review whether bank or wage garnishment is allowable in your state. 

Secondly, the whole "cash flow vs appreciation" conversation is simply a lie to me.  

This is going to be a very tough scenario, I suggest you stop putting money into this deal until you get things sorted on the financing side.I would also be very careful with and sketical about any offers for 100% financing... it will not happen, they are lying 99.99999999999999% of the time.The only realistic way would be for you to find a private investor to come up with the down payment for the mortgage but a down payment will be needed.90% LTC is theoretically possible through a flip loan but in order to reach that level you would need to have a lot of completed projects under your belt over 2 years.20% is possible but with 25% you would have a lot more options.That is part of the issue with this transaction...The other issue is with HOW MANY loans you are seeking...This is not 1 loan because this is not 1 deal...You need 3 loans because you are doing 3 separate transactions at the same time with the same seller.Blanket loans do exist but they are not widely available.Each folio number is a separate deal...

You can play games by pretending that you wanted this new place to be an investment (or "being creative" as you put it), but this would be lying and can blow up in your face.

They are not working and are on fixed income so I did not want to pursue for damages or even give them a hard time but struggled due to the fact that I felt bullied and lied to.