The apartment is in good condition, with lots of nifty upgrades (new cabinets, closet organizers, etc), in a great location, and very close to major area employers.

Here I would try and find the location with my nose so you don't have to tear up the whole house.Are the kitchen cabinets finished to the ceiling?

And, no, I have no affiliations with them other than being a customer, I do not receive any kickbacks, referral fees, or even as much as a gift card for steering any business.

I'm an accountant, so there are some things that I wish I could change and customize, but it is very user friendly for those who don't have much background in accounting.  

Their customer service is usually a bit better at least in my opinion.

It is so much easier for the contractor when the customer knows what they want.  

However, the existing bank will not let me transfer the account to another branch within their network unless I visit in person, which is not practical.can anyone recommend a bank that caters for non-resident customers?

Personally, I would try to find a competitive advantage other than price.Maybe your competitive advantage could be that since you are a small management firm, you are able to give your clients more personal (and thus better) customer service than they would get with some of the bigger property management companies.

I sympathise with anyone who has to deal with these people on a regular basis, it must be somewhere between the DMV and hell in terms of customer service.

Interior would need a pretty significant cosmetic renovation(all new flooring, paint, cabinets, etc), but I'm highly confident that there aren't structural issues that would need to be addressed.