HELP!

[Victor Saumarez]

I bought a property two years ago in NC through a turnkey investment operation. They buy, rehab, and sell with tenant in place and then manage the property. Everything went well until September last year, when the rent stopped. It took several calls and emails to get the property manager to respond, which was in December. I sacked them and through a new property manager found out the home was rented to a section 8 tenant and is in a mess. The old property manager has agreed to help with the clearing up but hasn't answered any of my questions as to what happened. They have been so slow at helping, I've had to ask the new property manager to send in his team. I don't know if there is a security deposit, whether any rent is owing to me, and who ultimately is responsible for this. It seems to me the property manager is at least in breach of contract for failing to make every effort to lease the property. If I just let things go, I'm going to be out of pocket as the carpets need replacing, the stove and fridge need to be replaced, the tub and shower might need replacing, and a host of other things, not to mention the rent I'm losing. The difficulty is the property manager avoids answering questions, and just procrastinates. I've been in touch with an attorney who deals in RE, and asked if I have a case for a claim to recover any losses, and am still waiting to hear back. This looks like my only option, but I have no idea whether this is just a small claims issue, or could end up being a legal battle in order to get compensation, and whether that is going to be prohibitively expensive. Advise much appreciated.