They came highly recommended to me through a friend of a friend because they'd use a scope to identify the problem (the first plumber I called out said they'd just start digging to look for the problem...no thanks!).

Once you identify the end goal you can work backwards to find the right place to help you achieve that goal by identifying certain markets or areas within markets that are a food fit for you.

Each sub-market is different, but I think we'll see a similar pattern to what we saw in the great recession. 

The trick with driving for dollars is having a pattern to follow.  

Have them use the following factors to determine whether you have a comp or not: age of subject (within 20 years down & up), style of subject (try to identify the approximate baseline per sq foot sales value of each style), square footage (within 200 square feet up & down), number of bedrooms (if subject has 3, you have to look at 3 or more; less than 3 bedrooms are typically less valuable because they appeal to single people instead of families), number of baths (1 is bad & you need to compare to properties that only have 1, 1.5 is less bad, 2 is good, anything more than 2 is good), parking (off street vs. on street & garage vs. no garage)2.

In my opinion it is foolish for anyone, even someone schooled in searching and examining title, to put significant money at risk without getting a policy because not only does it indemnify you for a loss related to a covered defect identifiable from the record, it also indemnifies for a covered loss which can't be found in the record such as fraud, forgery and incompetency. 

For example, you could identify a pocket of town you love the most (or one that is closest to your home) and just go all in on that area, versus trying to tap into all areas. 

Future reference - the onus is on the borrower to make it crystal clear to their lender what type of deal they're working with, provide more than enough info/documentation, and for the lender to do their best to identify potential potholes in the road before going under app. 

One helpful suggestion is to map carefully where every penny went during the acquisition, rehab and sales process as this will improve your understanding about rehab costs and identify areas where you can save during future projects. 

They say it's an insult to tell someone something they already know and I certianly don't want to be in that lot, but, wondered if you could identify a property manager while in MD, then leverage their network and get some loyalty to the project/ your business?