It's only worth whatnit will appraise for for the value of the houses and land.

Yes, a contractor can put a mechanic's lien on your house, but that is little recourse to putting food on the table.As a former subcontractor, I usually requested a deposit on larger jobs, $10,000+, on little stuff I wasnt as worries about it. 

Honestly, the first question that you and your wife need to ask yourself is whether this is primarily an investment or primarily a house for fun. 

One that I'm getting close (hopefully) to the end of, was a flip that was a public nuisance property with two lots on either side full of junk (like 10 dumpsters worth..)There was great opportunity with the house, but we bought the other lots as well and cleaned them up (as no one would ever buy the house with those lots filled with junk). 

I recently changed the rental type to "whole house" and the fraudulent listing also adjusted its rental price.

In my shoes, it would be hard to credit a client for a decision that could have saved you $10k+ in damages, especially when it wasn't something that went to our firm (like management fees or an in-house maintenance contractor).

House-hacking in a multi-family unit is one strategy I wish I had been aware of when I chose to purchase my first property.

Since you are already familiar with house hacking, I would consider converting your current home into a rent-by-room or whatever it takes to keep it as a long-term rental, then look for another home you can hack.

You need to really know what is selling, why it is selling and what to do with that house/townhome/condo.

If you do not wish to pay the increased rent you may decide to seek other housing.