I’ve done a lot of research and understand what I need to do, hence I am unsure if it’s worth hiring an attorney or use a platform such as legal zoom.

I also dont have enough cash on hand to hire a lawyer to go after the contractor at this time (I doubt she has the assests anyway).

If you are missing any of TIE, you are far better off financially hiring a local property manager.  

We sent old manager a formal letter stating she was not performing so we were hiring new management.

Once you have your shortlist, I recommend hiring a professional title company to handle the detailed due diligence.What’s in the Guide?

If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general.

That doesnt answer most of these questions, but will be a start for you.My thought...hire a PM for the first one. 

If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general.

1) If you want to hire a property management company.

You inspect, and then you hire a good independent home inspector—NOT someone recommended by the seller, a guru, or an agent.Besides, you might find out that you don’t like being a landlord.