they probably have a bunch of 3% nonconforming loans on their balance sheet so 5.5% is not bad, totally reliable payments, plus in a legal battle they'd likely find the power of attorney didn't extend to the ridiculous term and that there was no breach of any enforceable agreement.   

Better to have your own property manager use trusted handymen to take care of the issues for long term/quality fixes. 

Patience can be your best friend and if you attempt to over leverage a property it can come back to hurt you.Some will recommend buying subject 2 where you could take over an existing mortgage that could be at a substantially lower rate - but if the lender finds out and calls the loan that could also be very bad.

A 5 year arm might be a bad idea in this case. 

The paperwork isn't too bad, at least here in Texas.

You are talking about 22$ an hour per individual for an 8 hour day plus whatever equipment costs they need to cover.

Not a bad turn on investment for dollar amount, if I am willing to work for free on the calls. 

Long story short, I am in a bad financial condition as of recently.

To better equip myself, I also plan to start by getting a real estate license here in Illinois.

I can refute your reputation, I can refute you who you fundraise from, I cannot refute a truly quality deal.