I am thinking sending a formal letter specifying that for items that are deemed non issue they will be charged $200+ per visit to the property and deducted from their deposit.b) Apartment is delivered with one large trash bin, and 2 recycling containers.

If you want a unit vacated so you can renovate it, you probably want to try to negotiate that upfront (ideally property delivered with 1 or both units vacant) or you arranged cash for keys or non renewal shortly after closing.

A fresh contract would be I dunno, two hours of billable time?

The system has a diverter in the crawl space that will switch the air flow from the ductwork that delivers the air upstairs or to the ductwork that delivers the air downstairs. 

@Russell Gronsky if you can get it fresh (30 days) I would definitely consider coming off and relisting.

Obviously I'm still fresh in the game, so I'm considering all my options in terms of investing, but I had a question for all you reading:If you had to give a one-sentence piece of advice about REI, what would it be?

We have a very very limited budget and we need a contractor to do basic repairs and a fresh coat of paint so we can get tenants in the home by 2/1.

I really like the idea of putting that $27k towards the principal of my heloc to try to pay it off to start fresh again with $100k.

If they are willing to get the tenants out, that means all the hard work is done for you and you can start fresh. 

I knew that was conservative but I wanted to under-promise/over-deliver to my hard money lender.