@Michael EhmannThis is good in theory but will likely be futile in practice.

My rental property is in Sacramento County, which currently has no rent control.

3) The few banks I spoke to informally appear to be uninterested in writing a loan unless the tenants in the property have long leases that practically exceeded the loan term.

The problem here isn't bad contractors -- the problem is that once you realized the contractors weren't holding up their end of the bargain, you refused to take control of the problem and solve it.

But before you make that decision, you need to have a serious come to jesus about what your goals, needs, and deal breakers are with regard to:Time - how much time can you reasonably afford to spend on the investment once it's made, on an ongoing basis Control - are you willing to sacrifice a bit of your return for someone else to handle tenanting, maintenance, and turnover, or do you want maximum control regardless of your experience levelResolve - if you're inclined to be very hands-on, do you honestly know that you will be able to maintain the level of involvement long-term?

Should I use paid, targeted advertising on Facebook or other social platforms (this I have practically 0 knowledge of)?

If you can get financing and control the deal yourself that is the only route.Operationally and financially partners are usually not the best idea unless needed for a specific reason.There are few exceptions to this rule.

Hi @Justin White - we're practically neighbors.

Is it the landlord's responsibility to call/hire pest control or are the tenants responsible?

Get books/courses on sales training and listen to them over and over again. practice practice practice