I wrote the contractor a letter reminding him of the sequence of events and his shortcomings.

@Dmitriy Fomichenko's insights were valuable and served as a reminder of the various aspects involved in this type of investment, particularly the need to outsource the entire operation.

They also made a point to remind you to fill out everything before the call. 

Such good reminders!

Good to be reminded about deferred maintenance. 

The post above reminded me that there is also a Facebook group called "Denver Area Mustachians" that you might want to check out.

You might consider setting a reminder to follow up every 30 or 60 days, depending on how fast things move in your market.

As for kids, some kids are better behaved than others and parents should know to watch their kids and remind them that this is not their house and not to touch things (young kids are kids, so it is up to their parents to tell them to stop) or they shouldn't bring them to a showing.Talk to your realtor and tell them that you want realtors showing the house to go with the people. 

Your opinion on refinancing reminded me of what a realtor recently told me...you marry the house and date the interest rate.

This post reminds me of a situation like you see a baby laying on the train tracks.