I'd get the BK stuff out of the way, then get your real estate attorney to sit down with you and hammer out a battle plan sooner than later.just my two cents.

I can now rewire most of a house I really enjoyed it,the work does  tear your hands up.The issue I have figured out it takes  the correct  tools so you end up with a garage  full of tools.I have seen how to set beams for a foundation and helped do it ,  not that hard really follow  some set rules, rent  a jack hammer the rest is just common tools .I could ramble on for me I get a real enjoyment out of working  on a house so I really make it a challenge to get it right .

The realtors and investors I know will think this over the top and not want to recommend a PM company that is willing to hammer their clients because "its in the contract".  

Let's say they aren't for the newbie investor.Your sweat equity is the effort you put in to increase the value of a property, you don't need to make saw dust and swing a hammer, you could oversee work, plant shrubs, design the landscaping, it's the difference in the actual expenses of increasing value to the value you end up with after work is completed. :)

When you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail. 

Don't raise the rent...it is consider retaliatory…you’ll get hammered if it ever goes to court.Your lease should have a clause in it that states that you can evict for the tenant repeatedly failing to pay the rent on time.If you have such a clause, proceed with a Notice to Quit, with the notice period equal to rental payment period (most often monthly which equates to 30 days).Be prepared to defend this in court, i.e. receipts given for late rent (if in cash) or your bank deposit records and copies of the checks.If your lease doesn’t contain this clause, you can add it to the lease with an addendum at the end of the next lease term.If the lease term is month to month, you can send them the addendum 30 days in advance of the change.If they are late repeatedly after that, you can evict for this reason (three times would likely be sufficient).Note: If you take cash for rent, it is always a good idea to give them a receipt.Another possibility, if the tenant pays the rent late every month because the first of the month doesn’t coincide with the date they get their income, you could consider amending the date the rent is due.This is sometimes the case with disabled folks, etc.This issue is another great reason to use a good lease, written and legal for use in Michigan, and that is tested in the courts.Many leases available online are none of those things.

I think the benefit in being in a smaller area is to really define your targets and then keep hammering them... just like a realtor hammers their farm.. the longer you do it the better chance you have.now there is cost benefit.. our average timber deal bordered on 100k profit.. so really depends.

Atlanta is on fire and everyone who can lift a hammer is working.Your best bet is to join a local REIA.  

So here I am, just a lowly metalsmith, hammering away at the anvil and feverishly listening to the Bigger Pockets Podcast (as metalsmiths do).

So a lot of our clients will take a can of paint with them (or a hammer for an electrical problem).