Instead of putting a “county” in the blank space ask them to write in “any property that they show to you” that way any property they alert you to and invest time into they are assured they will get paid for. 

Now if you think that the things you can buy are not good enough quality I assure you that no one will ever know.

There was also a dumpster in the parking area that he assured me he would dig out and place stone under.

There is no “dispute”.....if the city is maintaining it, they either now own it, have a ROW, or it is an easement.....most assuredly recorded in the courthouse.

My question is the following, what assurances (collateral) can I provide to my friend as I am building the house.

Is that an assurance that the funds I deliver will go toward paying off the mortgage balance?

I assure you it has very little to do with your looks although looks probably aren’t helping.

It seems to me that core properties should appreciate nicely and never lack for tenants and I’m just not as sure about investing outside the core.

That is true once you are established, but the reality is that a bank is not going to give a new face a big loan without having some assurances even if the deal looks good on paper.

Unfortunately any bank owned properties these days will almost assuredly sell at retail value.