If it has to do with dropping things on a hardwood or similar floor that kind of noise, the upstairs tenant can put down an area rug to dampen the "noise".

It's pretty much the standard type flooring you will find in an apartment around here.I will have a downstairs unit ready for prep sometime early in 2017....Even if it takes me a little longer and I have to save up a few pennies, I am going with wall to wall tile....closests, bathrooms, kitchen, living room...everywhere...If they want they can bring their own rugs, or they can go down the street and rent from someone else.I think tile is less than 2x as expensive as a sheet vinyl / cut pile carpet install...so It should pay for iteself with the 2nd tenant turnover, and be all gravy after that. 

Of course, I commend you for supporting your community by investing in depressed neighborhoods.As for "the little equity you have will be hard to get when times get rough" - I intend to be conservative with how much of my personal money gets allocated to this project, so hopefully I never have to pull the rug from underneath someone who benefits from affordable housing.

I've given away old mirrors, light fixtures, cabinets, vanities, anything that is metal or can be recycled, window treatments, I've sold kitchen cabinets, counter tops, anything left behind by the sellers: sofas, old lawn mower, rugs, lamps, old appliances even the kitchen sink!

The tenant could then lay area rugs and you would never have to install carpeting again.

If you can get the receipts, and/or establish a written documentation of these with photos and sources in a "Cost Segregation Analysis" then take the total cost off your 27.5 year life property and add them back under the 5 year (flooring, rugs, light fixtures, appliances, etc>) or as 15 year property (landscaping, lawn sprinkling systems, patios, new driveways, etc.)  

If over the next few years the graph gets back to 66% +/-, you'll see better 'deals' as competition intensifies for fewer apartment dwellers.

If the tenants want carpet in their bedrooms they can get a rug.

Obvious solution is to put down rugs but I'm hesitant as I don't want to take on that added expense.

I don't think you should run from section 8 is for you live and the people that you went to because I'm on Section 8 and I've been in this building for eight years the people in here treat me like s***  they won't fix anything I pay my rent on time every month never late they charged me a hundred and something dollars for 2 years too much in such an amazing help me then the reason that I found out was because because I trusted them and then I looked at my paperwork and the lady happened to send me a paper telling me how much my rent was and come to find out it was a hundred and something dollars I have been paying them for a whole two years too much I never got all my money back they gave me three months free rent and told me that was all I get and then cuz they moved into a new apartment because I was on the top floor and I need to be moved to a middle floor but they moved me to a bottom floor and the bottom floor BM runs all over the floor  and they gave me a washing machine and dryer that look like it was new but it wasn't the it needed a new plastic thing inside the dryer and in the wash machine and made noise every time you wash it and drive it to dry your clothes three or four times before they even tried and the floor has holes in it up under the rug that has all kinds of things wrong with it it didn't pass inspection six times so you tell me if I'm right or if I'm wrong it's not us all the time it's the manager's we do the best we can with what they give us I'm in this apartment I pay way too much I have maybe $100 left out of my rent I'm disabled have epilepsy I can't work  I have an uncountable seizures I don't know when they're coming and when I get stressed out I have seizures so you tell me I don't know where that juice but I have seizures  but some people do need Section 8 and some people on Section 8 or good and I'm one of them but I got treated bad and this is a well-known apartment building and they were 1800 Ford in Audrey's advisors cheap because I've been here for eight years and the manager name is not good they talked wrong to people he cared about the people that live here and they fixed everything when you need it fixed in the apartment is the old apartment was better than this  so God bless you don't put on everyone on Section 8 if some of the words and he was wrong it's because I'm not typing it in