Although the property has less than 600k in total debt against it.. so its just operating expenses and he keeps his properties pristine so he says he runs about 40% in operating costs prior to debt service which So basically no pay means no retained earnings for the month ..

I got quoted $1490 yearly cost plus a $30/mo retainer to have unlimited access to my personal real estate accountant.  

Why would you retain this contractors services if they were unable to provide a contract let alone a written estimate, or evidence of permits?

You've clearly been exercising your mental muscle for deal analysis and there will be others.

There is a gal who came by she said she can do social media marketing on a monthly retainer for 5k/mo.

I have many out of market/state/country investor clients (and I also do out-of-state investing for my own portfolio) who self-manage their properties which is the best way to maximize cash flow and retain control of your investment.

You can pay them a competitive interest rate and you will retain full control of the building while you learn about managing rentals.

So,  if you are serious and have some experience, you can probably cut a few years off your business development trajectory, and save more than the $15-$20K fee by retaining this outfit.

We do this for all our tenants and have been able to retain all of them here since we bought the building.

We aren't doing 100% up front, but just recently started charging a retainer and have had zero pushback.