So after eating nothing but pasta for the past five years here I am!

Depending on that conversation, I hope you can easily terminate the contract (may have to eat some/all of the cost), and hire a good contractor. 

Typically you need an exit strategy for any HML because you don't want to pay the points/fees for a long period of time, as that will eat into your profits.

Otherwise, it's better to eat 1k upfront and move on than to have an empty unit for 3 months that should rent at $750/month. $2250 is a lot more than $1000.

@Dennis Pollock i love it.....i have been eating, breathing and sleeping real estate for the past 3 months.

Vacancy and repairs can easily eat up that $300 a month leaving you with a tax loss for the year. 

Our systems are good (there is always room for improvement, that Ill concede to).I do agree with your philosophy of having ones cake and eating it too... the day job is good, and Ill keep it... for awhile anyway.

When a contractor "screws you over" usually it's because he bit off more than he could chew and is too prideful to acknowledge it and also isn't good with managing money to be able to eat the cost.

How do I find an accountant that won't eat all of our profits?

I generally have 5-10 deals going on at a time, which eats up a lot of capital.