Well all I can say is Real Estate and those that sell it are a lower form of life that practice in this manner then from the responses I read that say it isn't unethical - Yes it may be common practice but I do not believe it is ethical or even honest - Honesty isn't just lying but it is a manner of representing a property and what you want for it - If your intention is to delay an answer in order to get more bidders that is not honest - if I listed a car for sale for $XX and someone offered me cash at that value I would feel obligated to sell it.

While I'm still a noob in the REI space, I want to know what are best practices to build rapport with a broker(s) to start walking properties and seeing deals before thy hit loop net or the MLS.

I also am aware that a 30 year mortgage would not likely be practical given his age, so I was thinking of suggesting adding points that I would pay him in cash upfront as a concession for allowing me to have early payoff. 

My father in-law had a medical practice which he retired from and currently owns the property.

Just bad practice.  

It is a legal question I am asking, not what is best practice, most practical, or easiest.

Due to that I have very little savings (practically nothing), so I am looking into the various ways of investing with little or no money.   

It's fallacious to think that there's one number for a community or neighborhoodAnd for more fun, we used an arbitrary GRM of 11 to derive the FMV which we closed on.Preach whatever you please, but the practical side of the transaction demonstrates reality.The whole intend of the CapRate metric is to compare one investment to another, not to price fix.

It really isn't practical based on either time requirements or finances unless you purchase an apartment building (possibly with partners).

This is not a good business practice and would have avoided your present situation.