They mentioned that they could knock $700 off the origination fee if I went up to 5.125% - which seems like a bad deal for me over the long run.If the rest seems about right, I'm willing to eat a few hundred bucks on the origination fee.It felt as though they were trying to be honest with me when they mentioned that to make it work on their end, for such a small loan, they needed a little extra in the origination fee.

I think the area your condo is in would have a lot of competition for them short term, maybe you could do a 3 month for ski season and try weekly/ nightly for the rest?

That is one of the highest crime areas in the city, as shown by a recent news report by Fox 59 (link below):http://fox59.com/2014/10/09/public-safety-official... 

Don, You shouldn't even need the agent's help, you should be able to search the official records of your county and find the seller's name, and then Google that name.

The market in North Dakota does the complete opposite of the rest of the country. 

The rest of you guys I appreciate the calming words.

Either way, If I was you I would reduce his exposure by using his money as a down and financing the rest with HM.

Further, I am involved in a new crowdfunding venture that will be materially different than the rest of the industry.  

If so, why not just put some money down and leverage the rest?

Official inflation during 2014 is at 1.7%.