After pouring a ton of money in these properties, looking at the numbers, it doesn't make sense for these investors to spend any more resources on them.

Can't imagine running our business without this team.

That costs more than sheet rock.I imagine you can work with a helper found in front of HD and have it done in one weekend for $3-4K.

I'm dedicated and moving towards my goal faster than originally imagined.  

Imagine if we didn’t piss away so much on defense and the beauracracy. 

I can’t imagine going through a short sale in order to save $7000.

A few suggestions:There is a wealth of information here on Bigger Pockets about every aspect of real estate investing you could imagine.

Pull out the paperwork you signed with the first company, but I would imagine they have liability for any losses for sure.

You ABSOLUTELY do not need 20k..I can not even imagine what nonsense they would set up that would cost that much.

If this is Philadelphia, I would imagine that similar rules apply.There may not be any apparent legal issues, other than the need to evict your non-compliant tenant for creating a seemingly large issue.