You might want to partner up with a friend or family member to mitigate the costs.

They have not responded again (other than sending the e-sign doc) since this morning.

Did you have an agreement in writing signed by both you and the designer regarding payment schedule and purchases?

Simple mistakes can be very costly.  

Or, what assets are going to back up the guarantees?

this is a direct relation to lack of inventory.. new construction on many markets is as robust as its ever been.. we have had spectacular years the last 3 years of course during covid was tough with supply chains but my 500k house I am now selling for 700k and my build cost have gone up by maybe 100k.. so record profits for us.. 

We signed everything electronically but our county won't accept it.

Ken McElroy, Kiyoski, Bloomberg, Blackrock and the Fed should all ring you up and take some advice from you. ;-) There is nothing false wiih what @Henry Clark said.Commercial real estate is broad - Office space, self-storage, Farm, Data centers, residential properties above 4 units, etcIt can be true that one part of commercial real estate is suffering while others is thriving.

Now I gotta get linked up with a good contractor and see what they have to say. 

Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.