In regards to the OP, it seems the contractor may be already squeezed to the hilt if he's standing firm on that pricing.

Think of all the other buyers, just like you, who are standing on the sidelines waiting for interest rates to come down. 

So we stand out a bit in the market.

I am in this boat as things stand and have a very long outlook on the property that is not cash-flowing.

basically everything that is installed when standing in a structure with only drywall up) and saved ~$30k.  

You may be able to do a stand alone DSCR based second mortgage.

Areas like Newnan, LaGrange, Carrollton are fair game and solid markets from a demographics and price to rent stand point.

Every GP, real estate investor, makes mistakes, doesn't time the market perfectly etc, looking for the perfect is the enemy of the good. good REITs right now, take a look at ADC - agree realty, does multi-tenant triple net large shopping centers and has better growth outlook than Realty income-O-, 6% vrs 4%, which is also great company, both stand to benefit from low supply of retail space, last 5-10 yrs construction-wise, and thus better rents going forward, and interest rates should fall near term, lowering Cap rates and increasing underlying asset values and sales proceeds (only hold REITS in a tax-sheltered account, 401k or IRA, due to high taxation of the dividends-ordinary income) Good Luck

Obviously, lowering the fee and raising the rate is an option but that feels a little bit like spinning my wheels.At some point, if I'm dropping my rates far enough to compensate for a high cleaning fee, we get into the conversation of "is it even worth it to rent it at this rate and risk property damage, 4 star review, etc".Our logic is make the property stand out and the cleaning fee is not an issue.

UPDATE: Someone from the County contacted me and let me know that (R/S) stands for "Re-Assignment".