Best way to rehab a wood floor on a rental-to-be

[Jennifer Hillberg]

Hi -- I'm working on a house that will be in a lower-income rental area. I pulled up the carpets (which had 30 years of dirt and dust under them) and found good hardwood floors. There are many imperfections due to the carpet pad practically decomposing on them and also many worn areas. The floor needs a cleaning -- but next - should I sand the floors and then put a varnish on them? I want to do the most cost-effective plan for the house. I have 3 family members with me who are going to help -- but we've never done anything like that before - is it hard? Can beginners figure out how to do this? Should I just pay someone to? Should I just carpet (1000 sqft)? Someone in another forum mentioned just PAINTING the floors -- but I just can't bring myself to paint hardwood...especially the nice old kind.

Any advice is apprecitated!

Jennifer