I can help and I am willing to extend a hand up because of the work ethic and quality of their character.

We’re thinking about using a realtor to get the property rented out because we think we’ll be able to get a higher quality tenant.

It may take some time to make quality contacts... its kinda like dating hahaLastly, if you see a lot of renovated properties in your area that are listed by the same agent/company, you can reach out to them and tell them your story.

A quality property manager should carry Errors and Omissions insurance, and that would be the first person I would "go after".

I can write up an invoice right now that says "$3000 - replaced natural gas furnace", but until you fire up the furnace and test the performance and put eyes on the unit to verify it is new, who knows the quality of the work?

Don’t just compare their bid, compare their quality, compare their insurance, compare their proposed schedule... a low bid looks good on paper.

Meeting people at REIAs is a good way to meet quality investors, but you should ensure that you are a desirable investor.

Either find something specific to hang your general feeling on or add those negative qualities to your criteria.

If what he's doing violates your rental agreement (in any way), you could evict him and get quality tenants for the entire apt= less vacancy= more $. 

I'm sure this varies depending on location, but where I'm at there are plenty of quality tenants to be found without using the MLS.