After i reached the 20% mark, i was pretty much breaking even on the property after expenses.

It might be broken intermittently, I have had that happen on a zone heating system that used little computer boards and relays.And as @James Wise said, You need to think about protecting your investment from freezing because broken pipes which can be very expensive to have remediated.Good Luck!

Then, obtain quotes from at least three actual contractors. ( insurance and all that depending on the work)You'll likely encounter three types of contractors:The Super Expensive Guy: Highly skilled but often in high demand, resulting in premium pricing.The Average Guy: Offers good quality work at a reasonable price.

I would like to keep part of it for any unexpected expenses/emergencies I may find. 

With this I will have an additional 8 units bringing in $20k+ in after expenses revenue.Always happy to talk if you have questions, just reach out.

Just be careful your expenses and time to complete don't go over.

This makes your expense go up.

I'm not local to the area, and am not familiar with operating expenses for these types of projects. 

It can run long, it can run expensive, it can be done poorly, it can not be done at all, you can be ripped off. 

How to handle the requests in a timely manner while keeping expense down.