If they haven't already, ask both of them to provide a detailed scope of work and then compare pricing based on the scope they provide.

The idea of purposely burning down the home came to me.

Its only good for tax purposes if its still a wise investments and you do not lose money on it.

What I have seen in the research is to find a property you are interested in and compare to other comps in the same neighborhood.

Anyone familiar with PMs who collude with house-hunting companys to purposefully make me more inclined to sell?

The income amounts look to be long-term rental (which they are and came in 30% lower than what the STR average did) and 2. why did the appraiser look at homes 20 miles away to compare to when there are PLENTY of rentals in town...

The key is to compare each scenario side by side.

How do you evaluate if a property is ideal for flipping or if you should keep it as a rental? I never understood why people would have a flip, boost the value by tens of thousands of dollars, then sell it as opposed t...

You can find comparable sales in 2017 and use that dollar/acre figure to arrive at the fair market value then. 

This would allow you to access some cash for other purposes ( Tax Free) because a refinance is not a taxable event.