Always had in my mind that they would have to charge a bit extra to cover the mark up, but I thought it could cost less since they pay so little to the contractors hired by them (The Home Depot).As I was at the home depot store last night questioning about the cost to get their services done, I was approached by a few people in the store, asking if they could give me a price for whatever I need, but on the side (not through the home depot service).

Will you be managing it yourself or hiring a property manager?

You have an legal option, but the cost you face to hire an attorney may not be worth it to recoup money from the landlord.  

You hire them, and they get to work.

(May 2016) Yes, I have read numerous times to get a GC and hire it all out.

There are also a couple of consultants I would hire when things get serious. 

I am not an expert on rubber roofing, but have hired a few to do roofs for us.

I would hire an agent to do a BPO and give you a value.

you could also hire a mobile notary.. to go to their home and have them sign.

First thing before digging too deep into the other parts of DD is to do a virtual view of the house.