You will likely need to pull out and cap the bathroom plumbing if the bathroom was not approved and remove the stove since the city is already on notice of it.

No, none of my contractors were labeled/considered to be corporations.

And if they are a hobbyist/part-time builder, then they should engage the proper professionals, i.e. a title officer, civil engineer, architect, contractor et al to assist in reviewing the project's feasibility.

Have also done work in DC and Maryland and would say Virginia has significant benefits over DC and Maryland because it is more business friendly and jurisdictions are willing to work with not against developers on projects I mentioned as well as you mentioned With the federal government and government contractors not going away - area is great for investment.

Build a team with local contractors and use property management software.

Sewer issues in Chicago are very common which is why I ALWAYS recommend / almost require my clients to get them done + if there's trees in front or in the back of a property, there will almost always be plumbing issues + needed rodding. 

Finding an agent, finding contractors, overseeing repairs, finding a property manager, finding tenants, etc.

My partners & I are flipping in Chattanooga so I hung out there for a couple of days, meeting my contractor and agent for the first time; of course I went by and took at our flip. 

I'm fairly handy and have good contractor connections.

Handyman / contractor - This is the hardest team member to find.