If you plugged holes, there could be some charge for primering and painting the damaged areas to match the rest of the rental walls. 

I plan on posting this in the future in the marketplace if needed, but I feel like the waters are so murky here that I was hoping someone could help me get a foothold first.

After they are finally out I can take them to court again to try and collect my rent and any damages...Basically this process is a lot slower than I thought.

We both admit that things should have been discussed earlier but since this was completely new waters for the both of us neither of us really knew how much involvement was going to be required. 

I would go in for your water/sewer first without initiating the discretionary processing.

Even if you don't sue for performance you can sue for damages, can't you?

We already have a well and water system installed able to accommodate the new build but That's about all I know.

Around here, the properties are high priced in relation to rents and with students, you never know how much damage they might do in 9 months.

Roof, HVAC, water tanks, necessary updates etc.

This dirt compacted very hard under minimal water sprinkling and had standing water for 5+ hours in full sun 85 degree weather (beneath the standing water, the dirt was relatively dry - so it was holding water, not draining at all).