Is a better investment in lighting, laundry, insulation and cameras... or a pretty back splash?

@Tomer Ravid the previous landlord was charging $525/month in an area where market rent 5 years ago was $850/mnth for a similar apartment (2 bed 1 bath).What I did was put in over 100 hours of landscaping work, upgraded the appliances, upgraded the kitchens and baths (all as cheaply as possible, for example, I painted pink tile white, used thermoplastic panels and liquid nailed them over the old tile backsplash, laid down new vinyl floors over the old nasty vinyl, etc) and was able to take very nice pictures and market the property very well.I also allow dogs, so that is a huge competitive advantage in the area.

I would guess the updated homes with granite, backsplashes, nice cabinets and hardwoods would be getting the top rents of 1150-1250.

That way if you're renting to a family of four (mom/dad, 2 kids) that gives them an extra room for guest/play/office etc.Do some inexpensive kitchen upgrades (paint cabinets, new hardware, backsplash) and put the rest towards the new room.

They also offered to pay for their own painters if they could choose the color(s) & then they upgraded all the outlet plates, the toilet, both bath sink faucets & took back the kitchen backsplash tile we bought & they paid for upgraded tile.

I dunno maybe they should have swapped them out, given they put in the nice granite and back splash? 

Love the backsplash and the follow thru in the shower.  

I should have clarified that my intention is to use the renovation budget for major fixes (structural, roofs, exterior projects, plumbing/electric) and then I was planning on doing the smaller projects that I can handle (flooring, painting, kitchen update, tiling/backsplashes, etc.) over time.  

Condo were already move-in ready, so I added value by adding the back-splash, ceramic in kitchen, decorative painting and good staging... so the place we're way more attractive for an end-buyer, but I got a buy and hold investor interested and I had the price at 205 for investors and between $224k and $240k for end-buyer.

I was going to get some new countertops from Home Depot but noticed they have the built in backsplashes which won't work on the side with the sink and they don't sell the backsplashless ones.