A lot of changes were made post Great Recession and one of those is that a 3rd party service is used to connect the appraiser with the lender. 

And the landlord doesn't want to pay for us to have our own agent since his wife is one and thinks she will represent both parties... not easy people to work with.

From there you can learn whether you like having a 3rd party manager in place, or if you would prefer to be more hands on. 

Might be able to agree to a resolution between the parties, but if not, I would get it document with the authorities. 

The most important part is that it shows you where to find your state laws!

However if there are no descendants or lien holders to initiate probate proceedings, is it possible for an interested third party such as myself to do so?

The best part is that everyone here is excited to help you learn and grow into real estate investing.

Both third party, independent appraisers that have lots of experience. 

Yes, you can outsource all the management and a good chunk of your profit margin to a third party.

Fannie/Freddie and HUD will not buy loans with Environmental Hazards because Environmental problems are a far greater source of loss to lenders than fire or title risks because when the property becomes hazardous, its value plummets and if the borrower defaults, the lender could be responsible for costly clean-up fees, third party damages, or legal fees from town violations.