So for many other reasons, including unemployment insurance, workman's' comp it's cleaner to keep things separate than one massive accounting mumbo jumbo. 

The only reason to call and leave a message is to light a fire under them.Just my 2 cents and good luck

I don't have a contractor to bring, I just told her that as a reason.

The reason I suggest doing this upfront is because you will likely need to sign loan docs via a notary on video chat from Afghanistan, which only a few title companies will go for.Stay safe, and remember to hoard food before Ramadan. 

$250 per hour is reasonable for quality legal work but not in this case.

Must be a really good reason you drop that $80k into the property then.No money set aside for CapEx, if you really are planning on keeping the place for 10-15 years you should start to put something aside.Quick google of Carlsbad CA rent says a 2bed should rent for ~$2,100, so why only $5k in rent?

The building inspector came and recently shut the building down for health/safety reasons by turning off all the gas to each unit.

You may want to consider that the interest rates are continuing to creep up, and in 6 months they may be higher than they are now as a result you may want to hold out a bit longer on the refi. make sure that the deal at whatever rate you choose meets your financial objectives just incase you cant refi for whatever reason at the time that you initially projected.   

There are always people that need to sell or want to sell for their own reasons.

Same reason as above.3.