("What absolutely has to go?")  

Early winter inventory is low and those out looking are serious buyers, so this is a great time to list.  

There's plenty of threads about buying your OWN primary this low down FHA way.

I own a couple investment properties, 5 units in total and have found the buy and hold investment route has worked out great for me here... certain areas in the city have low investment property purchase prices (50K to 70K) with high rental prices.

At the moment, I'm looking for ways to break into the BRRR cycle in this Seller's market, leaning toward low overhead properties with Short Term Rental potential - particularly near Ybor City and TPA airport. 

absolutely no reason!!!"

You should absolutely charge a pro-rated rent amount, which you should be able to deduct from the security deposit.

Contractor currently charges % on total spent which gives him no motivation to keep bids low or fight for better deals with subs/suppliers.

Rents are very low here.

Yes, @Ned Cary is right - you can absolutely deduct those expenses.