Possible future SD, here, with an obvious inexperienced answer

Women are not a commodity..............While I might have a particular amount in mind that I'd like to invest in a SR, the actual amount I'm actually willing to do is likely going to be higher or lower than that, depending on the woman.

Do you see the contradiction in your statements here?

Let's pretend you can't buy a new house in cash and the realtor is the metaphorical POT SB while the house is the metaphorical return on investment.

Pretend the POT SB also comes with the house; just stay with me here.

In that case you are going to tell your realtor your max budget. Point is you still told the realtor your max budget because you want best bang for your buck (pardon the expression).

Other negotiating-expert SD's in this thread are suggesting the realtor should show them the return on investment first and then the SD will decide the fair market value.

Hogwash.

That's not how life works and the realtor will (and should) laugh at you.

I will stick to my original reply to the OP in this thread and that is I have learned it is best to give my max budget upfront if I want to find the best return on investment.