Am I over thinking a kitchen upgrade?

[Benjamin Leung]

So I purchased a house last month for the sole purpose of updating it into a rental property. It had been a rental property before and I got a great deal on it since it was very outdated and the owners were retiring. I have a list of things I want to do to make it rental ready but my roommate and a few other people have said that if it doesn't need it then I shouldn't worry about it. What I don't want to happen is for it to be below rental market value or not rental ready. I also don't want to spend too much money on improvements that won't add rental value. Here is the description of the property: 4 bed (5th bedroom possible) 3 full baths 2400 square feet .6 acre estate lot Right now the kitchen seems too small for a large family and I feel that it is also pretty dank. The sink is scuffed up and looks to have some significant staining, the countertops are a weird yellow color and a lot of the wood on the cabinets are scratched deeply or just kind of grimy. The lighting is less than desired as well. My plan was to add a kitchen island where the boxes are to increase counter space, shift the fridge to the right and build a pantry between the fridge and the counters, replace the sink and add a backsplash for easy cleaning. As far as cabinets, I don't know whether a full replace, just changing doors, or just replacing the counter top is the best choice. Running the numbers for me using the prefab HD/Lowes cabinets/stains ranges between $1k-$3k based on how far I should go. I originally settled on just taking off the door and the outside facing wood since it is scratched and building new face pieces since the inside is fine. Then my pantry would match the finish. My roommate who has been doing a lot of real estate and was an agent in another state said that I shouldn't worry about it since it's a rental. Here is a picture. http://imgur.com/a/oULFX Am I over improving a property? I also plan on doing some other improvements but I don't want to do a lot of it will add nothing. (Ceiling fans, sloping ground away from the house, bricking under porch area, etc) Also ignore the cardboard box island. My dad suggested putting it up to see if an island would help or get in the way.