Did you take the test?  

If the ceiling tests positive, have an abatement crew remove it.

Both contractors said the existing system was holding a charge when they tested it, but they recommended replacing everything anyway if I planned to hold the property as a rental.

You should be able to create an account with each and test it out to see which one you like best... 

At the very least this will allow you to spend your time fine-tuning the numbers more on the investments that pass this test first instead of wasting time looking at small movements in cash flows on items that clearly don't work.Best of luck to you!

In the beginning there is usually a little push back, like a child testing their parent's boundaries.

Can you do a 80/20 test and figure out if the trash is being caused by a small number of tenants (ie, maybe as part of their job they're bringing home tons of trash).

WE also have INTENSE competition for lots in the Portlandia market..

That approach is a little less time intensive and you can finance your deals if you have a job and good credit.  

Mark Furgeson just started another thread about the difficulty of getting a license, but it's still only 1 full time month of classes and one 2 hour test.