Even as such, given all of the activity Zillow shows with rental and sale prices, I would worry about the investment. - can you share your rental listing?

You're definitely on the right track with investing your time in real estate and getting active on BP!

Maybe if you can prove that you are actively trying to gain compliance, that will get you the much needed time to gather $, time to pull the permit and ppl to perform the work bc they will have a bit of mercy on you bc you are trying to do the right thing. 

It has been somewhat stressful coordinating activities and coming up with the best plan, but I went ahead and contracted with a PA.

Still stay active in BP though because there is a lot of wisdom in this group. 

🏡 We saw the number of active listings at 8,875 houses still on market to end the month, vs. 10,934 at the end of October (see chart above).

Not knowing who the person is and hiring them without seeing an active job or a job they have ever done 2.

Luke - as an active investor and Realtor in mid-sized NC cities, getting 5% with today's home prices and interest rates is impressive in areas that aren't D or even C class assets/areas.

Are you wanting to stay an active investor or get into some more passive investments?

While BP has a rent estimator as does rentometer.com (both allow a few free uses, I believe), I agree with @Zachary Deal that your best bet is to seek out guidance from either the listing agent or a property manager well-versed with the area.