As a independent landlord I have always found this to be immensely helpful in finding a quality tenant. 

Once you trust him then you'll only have to do periodic checks to ensure quality. 

Stick to the quality and finishes of alike, SOLD comps and you'll get a good, accurate appraisal within acceptable margins. 

There is no exact number because the the age, the size, the building type, the types of tenants, the local weather, the quality of materials purchased, the quality of the labor, all play into it.

I don’t mind spending more for quality... however $7200 seems a little outrageous.

There is a lot of variation in neighborhood quality within Longmont, with some parts being fully gentrified (SE side which is rapidly approaching Boulder prices), others that are still "transitional" and also some pretty rough hoods that may never be nice (W/NW side).

We are currently looking at any location that’s close to transportation to NYC since one of us work in the city and thought this could attract high-quality tenants (eg. white collars working in NYC).2.

Has anyone used these to get quality leads or is it old leads that are hanging around?

Either way, your drive and desire to serve your community and help your clients are qualities that all agents should strive for!

This is pretty common to keep your first few purchases in your personal name in order to take advantage of high quality loans early on.