Aesthetics help to sell ,but you can shop this cheaply by the square foot. 

I lived in New Mexico for a number of years and can appreciate your sentiments—I love adobe homes but it’s easy to overdose on them in communities where the prevailing aesthetics (and zoning) lead even McDonalds and Wal-Mart to adapt and appropriate the style (but, at the very least, these are still major improvements over their traditional facades).

Outside of quick aesthetic fixes (i.e. paint) are there any specific fixes that make your eyes widen?  

The first was a six year old house with a busted foundation, though the house was supported just right that the "house proper" was still in generally great shape, minus some minor aesthetics, though no major stress fractures in the living portion.

While they may be somewhat pricier than side-by-sides or a stackable, they will certainly be much more pleasing aesthetically.

Pride of ownership is also important to us, and we are strong with aesthetics, so we would like to add value by creating charming aesthetically-pleasing properties.We would owner occupy in the property most advantageous to achieving goals, fine with moving a few times. :: POSSIBLE STRATEGY :: A strategy I’m considering is buy-and-hold in Los Angeles, starting with residential.

It is funny when we compare those two locations aesthetically. 

You will have to give other parameters as well, for example, budget, desired SF, aesthetics and so on.

I personally wouldn't gut a unit that doesn't need it and would focus on making it mechanically sound and aesthetically pleasing without busting the budget trying to make a rental look like the Taj Mahal.

Worked on a 5 Plex up on East bench of SLC, Utah by University of Utah.Put about 30 hours of cleanup and paint work and sold it for a $1500 profit.I was the punk teenager that just made $50 an hour ( back in 1975).Real estate agents made each about $2200 in commissions!