They seem to look at the house as a whole rather than any particular finish, for example, granite counter tops won't distract them from seeing all the poorly installed tiling and paint sloped on windows.

I plan on doing most of my own rehabbing as I Do tile and remodel bathrooms and kitchens on the daily and have my own crew.

Refinished hardwoods, new tile in kitchen and bath, old cabinets, older functioning HVAC, insulated.

He is a contractor who does sub work for high end custom homes here (his primary trade is finish carpentry) though he can do the gamut of tile, drywall, siding etc)  I'm also capable of a lot of this work though I work better assisting someone else, some I can take the lead.  

On the flip side there is a need for regular family rental homes, that may not need quite as much work in between tenants, or if you are smart and update the property correctly you, there will never be much need to fix up in between tenants, after installing hardwood floors, tile, waterproof vinyl Allure, granite counters, tile surround showers, etc.  

Plans are:Replace flooring with tile throughout.Rehab bathrooms replace vanities and massive cleaning where needed we will try to salvage tile on icky shower.

For example, I almost always tear out carpet and replace with tile or trafficmaster, so my flooring costs are often higher than other landlords (at least initially).  

Concrete:  $75 a yard installedBrick:  $.50 per brick installedpainting:  $100-150 a room with trimexterior painting: $1800-$2500new hvac : $2300new window:  $100-$150 for standard sizes x 2 for installdrywall : $12-$18 a sheet finished (depends on finish level and size of sheets)tile: $5 a square foot installed (add material cost of between $2 and $10)basic stainless appliance package : $2500hardwood $2 a sq. foot installed $1 a sq foot to refinish (add material cost of $2 to $10)plumbing:  $100 per fixture to install and $100 per fixture rough-inelectrical: priced per outlet and per fixture for both rough-in and installTotal rewire of house:  $3K-$6Kupgrade electrical service:  $800Total replumb of house with pex (no slab): $2K - $5K10x10 set of cabinets no frills:  $2500, about 1 day for a capenter to installcountertops: $1500-2000new roof:  $5K (metal including materials)deck:  $2K-$5Kbulldozer/bocat:  $80 an hourdumptruck:  $1.50 per mileCarpenter:  $35 an hour low end + $10-$15 an hour for helpers. 2 carpenters can frame an entire house in less than a week.  

Prior to this I worked in the construction industry with experience in: roofing, siding, framing, tile, wood flooring, asphalt repair, cement work, & granite counter tops.

Single family homes, distressed but in decent neighborhoods. 1980s-1990s, 3+ BR, 2+ Bath, 2 car garage, tile roof, stucco, no HOA, far east Lancaster & Palmdale (past 20th st East but before 50th East).