What I don't like about this approach is the management company would give the job to it's favored contractor, you lose control, cost is inflated, and collectively you all have no control over the cost.

Rich Weese That’s incredible.

There is no extensive marketing campaign or advertising needed:  broker I bought through a couple of years ago has approached me to sell to an interested buyer she has identified and she is proposing 6%.   

Having said that, I'm trying to approach this using @David Greene's model of finding 2BR units with 1000+ sq ft in an effort to buy low, convert into a 3BR, then ultimately cash out refinance.

You can approach owners anytime.

But, getting a job is incredibly easy.

Take an approach of being curious how the screening came out vs being accusatory. 

Any tips on how I should approach this?

Or is there a better approach to finding them?

Keep in mind with that conservative approach you want to be bidding offensively low, just to see if you can spend the full daily budget.