EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

Purchasing a “distressed” property and “repositioning” it requires significant capital for improvements, build outs, holding costs, maintenance.In looking for that “needle in a haystack” slam dunk great deal you’re competing with very knowledgable, greatly experienced investors with the cash to make no contingency offers and close in a few days.  

I can't get the sense for the cost of their "Stage 2" service and they won't disclose it.

Your estimate seems low, but even at that cost, it will not add that value.  

Cash flow has been hampered by an increase in cost of ownership recently, specifically insurance. 

After pointing this out, I would have expected the cost to be eaten by them.

We got started, but they hired an appraiser and charged me $750, while typically appraisal costs around $500.

Additionally you can do a cost segregation study and get a lot of depreciation benefits to offset the rental income (and potentially other income).  

I did not want to spend 50K on doing separate meters for where I have my rentals it would cost me this much.

How much did the rehab end up costing and how long did it take to complete?