In the portal (they're using Buildium) we have a breakdown of the labor and smoke alarm costs, but there are no receipts attached.

I have a lender in first position (75% LTV) the seller will be financing (20% LTV) and I am contributing 5% LTV + closing costs.

On paper, it makes sense to use such a service to have a predictable cost allocation towards maintenance.

But you may not enjoy book keeping or think your time is more valuable spent elsewhere, hence the desire to outsource services to low cost service providers in India. 

Though cost are expensive considering my starting point.

If you haven't already, read "The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs" by J Scott.

In the meantime section 8 provided reliable income stream to assist with carry costs. 

If what they put down meets your qualifications, send them a link to run credit and/or background check at their cost.

I invested in 7 syndication funds in 2023 as a limited partner with the expectation that I would generate first year losses from cost segregation that I could use to offset my gains on my personal real estate investments (self storage). 

Our hope is to find ways to increase cashflow with this property short term and reduce our bleeding, and also consider the cost associated to implement.The property is 2 units fully occupied. 1 tenant already rents out our garage for an extra cost, the other tenants are left with no additional storage outside their unit.