If you feel they're being too harsh, think about their intent.

It will feel cold and harsh, but you have to be very clear that you follow the lease and there is no wiggle room because if you give an inch they will take a mile and you have set a precedent of not following the lease and creating a "verbal" agreement that you didn't intend to.   

To the North is Camp Pendleton and Orange County, To the East quickly test harsh (and you get Imperial County that no one would mistake for San Diego). 

Not trying to be harsh but just based on the way your post is written, you don't seem ready to get into the short term rental business. 

Stop believing that is the crazy world that made your experience harsh and realize that you could have managed the property better and greatly lessened the chances of such a bad experience. 

The San Diego housing shortage will take more than a decade to be resolved (and may never be resolved as the land is constrained on South by Mexico, West by the Pacific, North by Camp Pendleton, and to the East it quickly gets harsh). 

But the patient and disciplined investors are being rewarded as long as they buy in the right location and don't overpay for the deal.That is more than a bit harsh. 

Hope this helps, I don't intend for it to sound too harsh but reading your post in the forum reminded me of where I was a few years ago. 

Now if you are hiring the attorney to formally represent you in the matter (file forms, show up in bankruptcy court, gather and review documents, review case law, etc.) that will typically be more expensive.This may sound harsh, but if you don't have the funds available to pay for a legal consult and/or make your tenant whole while you are pursuing the PM this might not be the business for you.

@Thomas O'Donnell The harsh reality of home buying right now is an FHA loan isn't competitive.