She was told by our local power company, PPL, that our meter base needed to be upgraded, THEN they could put her meter in (there was no meter in her unit because the previous tenant moved and it has been unoccupied for a few months).

I would change my tone with the old contractor and notice him in writing he's not welcome back to the property and you are looking into option to hold him accountable.

That seems to really restrict the buyer's options and avenues for closing.

I'm in Atlanta, GA which gives me fewer options with that budget unless I go with condos with HOA's that allow rentals, or venture out to towns outside of Atlanta like Macon, GA, Athens, Lagrange etc...

I would recommend reaching out to a few to get a better handle of your options.

They've made Detroit real estate investing a viable option for someone like me who values a hands-off approach.

As Steven posted above, dismissed without prejudice carries with it the the option for the landlord to bring the charges again if whatever agreement was reached between the landlord and the tenant is not completed.  

So just an option to look at.  

@Juan Lizarazo plenty of options around.

Is sending out some goombas to break knee caps an option?