A lawyer can easily find out how much equity you have and with more equity you are a more attractive target.Thanks for the input, Bruce!

That said, some states have laws that say if a title company or a lawyer has to do the closing.

One of my meetings there was with a real estate lawyer who specializes in legal contracts.

And no, you can’t charge extra rent or deposit for the ESA, but you can hold the tenant responsible for any damages caused by the animal.If this situation doesn’t sit right, it might be a good idea to explore your options with a lawyer, just to make sure you’re on solid ground.

I also dont have enough cash on hand to hire a lawyer to go after the contractor at this time (I doubt she has the assests anyway).

Although I am relatively new to REI myself (looking for my third deal now) I am more than happy to try to answer any questions you may have and get you in touch with some of the people (realtors, lawyers, flooring guys, etc.) that I have met along the way.  

Still have expenses, but no income (hope you have reserves for a lawyer)3.

Is this where you would need a lawyer to start the process of getting them out through a court order?

Unfortunately, I don't think it's realistic that you will find a generic commercial lease online that checks all the compliance boxes for your state, city, and county.There are limited service property managers that will do retail tenant placement (rather than full property management, which it seems like would be overkill for this one commercial unit you manage), and this would be included as part of that basket of services.You could also hire a lawyer, but I think that property management company will be more cost effective. 

You must be a lawyer and the most you can charge then is 25%, not to be more than $1,000.