Does this prevent you from being able to refinance later since you are using some of the equity up front?

We immediately replaced the entire roof with money we received cash-back at closing, rehabbed all of the common areas (lobby, hallways, cafeteria, entrance), rehabbed the 3 vacant units, addressed the landscaping, resurfaced and lined the parking lot, implemented third party management (Vic Green Realty), and added a $25/m utility bill-back.

I'm just trying to prevent headaches here if possible - would really like to just sign the lease agreement but wanted to get some feedback on if this sounds like a "skip it" situation or if we should suck it up and if there are also ways to protect ourselves or 'manage' the landlords so that we can prevent these types of issues from arising.

What you are asking of him is reasonable to prevent future miscommunication.

I believe right now in NY state (and some other states) that you may be prevented from evicting due to moratoriums due to the covid pandemic.

However, if you are putting up 75% of the capital and doing 25% of the work (which is hard to quantify and practically implement) then that starts to make sense.

There are an overwhelming number of avenues to do so, but deciphering which information to trust and implement has me baffled.  

I appreciate this advice and plan on implementing it immediately!

After removal of the drywall and floor coverings the wood structure and framing would be treated with a surface applied water-based encapsulating sealer to help prevent the release of any odors that have penetrated into the wood components.

Short term rentals will need to be fully furnished, with linens and towels, kitchen implements, plus consumables like soap, toilet paper, etc.