@Kristi Kandel if you know the rental is a mess and you suspect the tenant is responsible, why don't you make the current Landlord get rid of them and deal with the deposit so you can start fresh?

Im operating on assumptions here, so from your picture/location you are fresh out of bootcamp and likely not from the area.

I think i've finally reached my breaking point and am backing up to punt...looking for a fresh, motivated and affordable contractor to step in and stop the bleeding before i'm out of resources!

Excellent point about the pricepoint - in part my hope is to communicate that they should take care with items in the house and theoretically I'd like them to opt out of renewing their lease at the end so I can do some work and start fresh. 

To do this type of work, I would choose to use a 203k or HomeStyle loan at 3.5 or 5% down.With everything fresh, comps would put this house around $300,000 ARV.

The city or parish would investigate if its blighted after a someone reports it to them.  

Looks like Clark County is being really aggressive about cracking down on STRs:https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-go...Illegal short-term rentals remain a problem in Las Vegas ValleyClark County’s crackdown on illegal short-term vacation rentals resulted in a record-shattering number of investigations last year.The county opened 501 cases, more than double the number opened in 2016.

There are approximately 1,432 variables in that question, making it almost impossible to answer.If I were starting fresh and didn't have my own home, I would start by purchasing a small multi-family building with 2-4 units.

Just get rid of her and start fresh.

You may consider just giving them notice to vacate and start fresh.