This is often the best treatment for those pests.

I'm sure Pace is smarter than me when it comes to real estate, but I don't have $5000 worth of trust in his ethics.

This ensures that you protect existing tenants from direct competition and support their growth; this will also foster their trust in the ethics in which the property is managed. 

While that may sometime be true, full disclosure to all parties should eliminate any ethical or moral concerns (imo). 

Prove your work ethic, and opportunities will come.6.Enjoy the process.

So, you can see where believing that doing everything honest and ethical and being a “good” landlord would not always save you from being named in a lawsuit.  

Work ethic and accountability to the work is more important than the outcome. 

We have minimal resources as far as money goes, but we have a relatively long list of upgrades (window treatments, hardware, light fixtures, paint, etc).

Winning their trust and saying that you're licensed and follow a code of ethics, unlike investors and others that may want to buy your home directly (they don't know the terms wholesalers).

You can judge the ethics of that request yourself to put into these rock-solid businesses above.