Finally, confirm if there are any existing service contracts (for landscaping, pest control, etc.) that may need to be transferred or canceled.

I see nothing that makes one more a business than the other if no breakfast or guest services are provided.  

this is old  tried and true method of simply having you pay them to get credit cards .. there is no need to pay for this service.. unless you want to of course.. there is no magic bullet ut there that is going to give you credit and financing unless you actually qualify for it.But zero interest credit cards are used by some to do rehab and then pay them off issue is though your fico score drops like a rock the second you take on all these CC.Also starting out there is zero chance of getting any kind of business line of Credit that is unsecured.

I prefer to have cameras on all the time and WiFi at the property during renovation for better service and oversight, and in case of theft which happens all the time.Taxes are a big aha when you don't expect them as well.

To help assess each pet, we use a service called PetScreening, which rates pets based on various factors.

I don't know Kris Krohn personally and have no experience with his services so I cannot offer feedback there.What I will say is that $18,000 is WAY more than you should be paying for a service that you are describing.

Option 3 may sound tempting to you, but before considering that route I would interview prospective property managers and house-cleaning services in the area you are considering.

When I separate from the service I plan on making real estate investing my full time job.

You need his rank, time in service (you can even guess really, doesn’t vary a ton), and zip code.

BP is so large now, unfortunately, there are a lot of "professionals" advertising their services here but don't know the REI industry.So, to protect yourself in the future, I'd ensure at least a few other REIs have worked with the professional you choose to hire and have received enough value from them to refer their services.You can always ask the professional for references as well and they should have no problem providing a few if they are good at what they do.Just my 2 cents.