So I was under the impression that someone in an outside market is more willing to allow me to shadow them because they're not necessarily teaching their competition.

Even furnishings can affect their impression...everyone has different taste in colors and styles.

You have the consumer right to select my inspector you'd like to perform your inspection so if you feel passionate about this and want this person to go through the property on your behalf I would push the item further. 

Looking forward to your kind responses.Mark - That is the risk you have to take and that is why selecting the property management is most important as they will have a bunch of contractors working for them on multiple properties.

Do they hope to impress me with their smugness?

Texas is one out of 50 states so when you talk the way you have, it leaves an impression on others that it is perfectly fine everywhere, it is not.

Buyers have much more selection and can now be more picky about a property’s condition.

So it's really hard to break through as a newbie in commercial (I'm not looking for multifamily, I'm pursuing medical and office, but same idea).One thing I'm working on lately is I've hand selected about a dozen buildings that I really want to own.

Home ownership will always be more expensive than renting which is why it is a life style choice not a investment.Over the life time of owning, except in a few very select markets, the cost to own will match or exceed any amount a personal home will ever be worth.Choose the one you can most comfortably afford when factoring in all costs not simply the cost of the home and decide accordingly.

In order to select the best loan product for a specific purpose, care must be taken not just with interest rates and fees, but also the fine print of all the other terms, and finally in the ability/reliability of the lender/broker to perform.