You can look up and provide alternate comps and feed them with a brief explanation to you banker who can challenge the valuation on behalf of the bank, who is the client of the appraiser.

The alternative is renting a place and trying to put it up on airbnb in order to recoup our expenses, and then getting into investing a year or two later.

This may be a very good alternative for you. 

Minimalism seems to be a popular concept, especially in a context like Airbnb where you can try it out without the commitment to unloading all your stuff for good.

When analyzing the returns, we notice that the cost of the LLC ate up into the properties returns.As an alternative to an LLC, we are contemplating on creating a partnership between the three of us and having the three of us have equal ownership of the property.

It is extremely exciting to see others want to be apart of the growing niche of investing in vacation rentals, especially in a market like Phoenix where we have no shortage of events ( Spring Training baseball games, Barret Jackson auction, The Phoenix Open, are just a few of the popular events that tourists flood Scottsdale in the Spring time).  

(It's not even the money that's the bother, it's the ethics)            Can anyone recommend an alternative management company in Raleigh that I should consider?

Would that also be a good alternative?

Is there any creative alternatives or any other options? 

Alternatives include buying another property or more than one, taking cash out, etc.