The comment about local agents sending him MLS data when you know he's way overpriced indicates that a) he is sure he's right and doesn't actually want your input (even if he says or even thinks he does), and b) he's getting poor counsel from other agents regarding how much expertise will be helpful to him - unless he has already spent years and years showing houses to buyers, hearing why those buyers will or won't buy the house, and analyzing MLS data to see why properties did or did not sell, in which case he has a good background.The FB questions verge on the odd side - I might check out a prospective tenant's or contractor's social media pages seeing as that's someone whose trustworthiness is going to directly affect my life, but the questions he asked about it sound like they're meant to tell you how smart he is (aka, how much he actually does not need you... to list a former FSBO... which is significantly overpriced... :)Good luck, would be curious to hear what you decide.

You are admittedly concerned about the state of the economy, as per your prior comment(s).

Only a lawyer in that specific state is qualified to comment on the legal validity of that nation.

I don't know your parent's finances, but am glad you are hesitant to risk their money.Your comment about a HML not using local tradespersons doesn't make sense to me.  

Some interesting comments made so far, most are...The first thing you need to realize is the bank orders the appraisal and it is their appraisal for their own purpose, not yours.

I would love to get to know y'all, and don't hesitate to drop a comment and reach out!

So your comment of art/science and smoke and mirrors makes sense to arrive at some kind of middle ground there. 

Really appreciate your comment.

@Joe Villeneuve just to follow up with the comment about it being a dead end, I come to realize a lot of people seem to think that way because of after buying the magic number of 10 properties traditionally it seems like a dead end but at that point shouldn’t you be looking at portfolio/commercial loans to keep pushing ahead?

The best idea is here in the comments to split it up to multiple houses.