Anyone know any reliable licensed Contractors in the dmv area that would be a good fit for a new business?

They would be more reliable at maintaining the home and payment than a tenant ever would be.

NOW, ( My personal opinion) In my advantage (I'm a license realtor, 90% of my business is on the investment side)  the only thing it really helps me I've seen is that only provide legitimacy, reputation reliability , professionalism and some authority, IN front of other investors or partners or sellers (JUST for the fact I have a license, Not the knowledge gain on  the test ...) 

Airtable, a good CRM, UpWork, and a reliable handyman-What pitfalls should we try to avoid?

The downside to this is I didn't predict the separation nor the pandemic, so I'm left in a position where I need to have a more reliable source of income (ie not commission only) and I'm quickly running out of financial runway. 

You'll have to pay for both, but may be worth it, if you think they didn't use reliable comps. 

Area vibes has some info on geographic areas (I used Shoshone as sample):https://www.areavibes.com/shos...You can get info on schools as wellhttps://www.greatschools.org/These are not the only sources of information, and I can’t say personally how reliable they are, but they might provide a convenient start.Good luck in your search

Rent won't grow as much as it would on a multi family but could be a safe investment in terms of reliable income and small appreciation.  

Send me a message and I'll refer you to a reasonable and reliable tester.

As others have mentioned, you are going to want to find quality, reliable professionals to work with.