If in doubt, I would hire the attorney.  

Hiring an RE attorney to assist would be advised. 

If we were to hire a management company at 10% of monthly rent, that would drop our yearly net income to $3,484 and our cash on cash return to 8.3%.

IF this make you nervous and your answer that's why I am hiring a property manager - then this is the wrong property.

Second, the manager recently hired a family member to perform plumbing work on my rental after a call from the tenant - it wasn't an emergency since our usual handyman the brokerage uses cleared the backup.

Hired a local home inspector (paid him). 

The son said he would hire a home inspector to write up a letter stating the structure was fineThe inspector told him the building was not structurally sound.  

For example, if you own the properties in your own name and someone falls at one of your properties, they can use you instead of just suing the LLC which offers the protection and separation from your personal assets.Keep in mind that the LLC must be formed and managed properly (we hire an attorney to do this for us) in order for the LLC to actually stand up in court.To provide additional protection, we also have an umbrella liability policy.

If I were the agent I would certainly give you a major break- or maybe not charge you, if I liked you and thought you'd hire me again.

Looks like more freedom and a bigger piece of the pie is your main reason for your planned leave.When you open your own firm will it be strictly for your own investments or will you be hiring more agents to work for you?