My partner is an electrician and we’re very handy as well.

If that's the case, you'd need to interview 3 tile guys, 3 drywall guys, 3 electricians, 3 plumbers, etc. to be as thorough as possible.

After talking with some electricians, it looks like it will cost about $8K to replace all the fuses with modern breakers (that includes updating the building with hardwired smoke detectors which is a local city ordnance that is being enforced).At the moment I was trying to BRRR this place. 

Lastly I got estimates for standard maintanence costs  that I may expect to pay each year  (lawn mowing, getting new keys, painting (interior/exterior), plumber, electrician, etc).  

In every area I've built houses, you need a licensed engineer to stamp the plans, a licensed electrician/plumber/HVAC company to pull mechanical permits and a licensed GC (unless you plan to live in the house yourself). 

We subbed out the trash/demo, subbed out the crazy electrical mess in the basement with my electrician, subbed the landscaping, subbed the flooring, and then had one of the GC's I use and trust finish everything else (paint, cabinets, base/trim, doors, hardware, bath stuff, plumbing, etc).If you are asking for their contact info, ill pass along my subs, but not this GC :)

Find the best support team of agents, handymen, hvac, electricians, cleaning crew, painter and a landlord tenant law advisor (you can even join your local Apartment Association for ~$30 a year.. they have a good lease and put on great weekly training 1 to 2 hour sessions on current topics.Your properties will be worth more to you thanyou can imagine in the next 10 years.

You could also call up the different wholesale supply shops - like Platt Electric for electricians and so on - for the different trades and ask them, they have long term relationships with the contractors who have proven themselves over time.Another thing I would do myself if I were new in a town is call a decent sized church and ask a secretary if they know a good contractor in their church.

Well yesterday the lights on our first floor went out so we contacted the electrician he subbed.

Don't get me wrong, I keep the 50% rule in mind because there is a lot of validity to it but I do my best to find way to mitigate that 50% ie managing the property myself, negotiating deals with contractors, plumbers, and electricians, and perhaps purchasing property that has had the critical and expensive parts updated recently.