isn’t what they should be focused on and I’d argue you’re doing more harm than good. 

I have two friends who own rental properties and they are successful with their properties, I read Rich Dad Poor Dad twice along with Rental Property Investing and Power of Habit, I've been told by multiple people apart of the Baby Boomer and Generation X that they wish they invested in Real Estate at my age, I was a Resident Advisor at my University and I enjoyed that role so some of the skills are transferrable, and lastly this is the best time for me to take a risk.

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesWe recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

Seasonality driven by factors like weather, school schedules, and buyer habits affects housing demand and pricing, often making certain times of the year more favorable for buying or selling.

My concern is whether the city could deny permits for these modifications, such as removing walls or converting a garage, or if they are mainly just concerned with safety and habitability.

What's the basic steps if the house isn't habitable?  

The fact that it has harmed (scratched) another tenant may allow you to have it removed. 

If you did the latter, then there was no usable bathroom during this time for those residents and technically the unit was not habitable.

In my area water is required for habitability for sanitary reasons.

Your best bet is to ensure that there are no material modifications that would in any way harm or even moderately delay the ability to rent it out and qualify as a normal SFR (one lease, one family) or sell on the market to an owner-occupant