Things to look out for are signs of water infiltration in walls and crawlspaces (stains and mildew!).

I tore up the cat pee carpet, painted everything on the main floor (ceiling to floor, minus window trim) and refinished the wood floors myself, staining them walnut, also took main bath to studs and back up (reused newer toilet and the original cast tub).1 year 2 months later, I have 3 comps that closed in the last 30 days for $141k, $143k, $145k.

Things that contribute to a greater price per square foot are: flooring covered with paint ( I could barely get anyone to even quote me on this and we wound up doing it ourselves), stairs, staining (it is an extra coat), nails poking up, water based finish.

I always inspect my own properties in addition to hiring inspectors (look for frass, stains, soft spots, dipping roof, go into the attic, rodent feces, foundation cracks, soft wood around windows and window sills, water stains in the basement by the furnace (often a sign that the chimney is leaking into the furnace - a huge problem)etc.).

Most of the projects I do these days require custom built high end cabinetry with custom stain, self close drawers, etc.

The Pro contractors in my area do floors then paint.From what I understand, they have a difficult time sanding and staining around the baseboard and shoe-mold without causing your painters to come back and touch-up.If your painters damage taped off floors, they're doing something wrong.

All the carpet will have to be trashed, and on a recent job we had to have the hardwood floors refinished as there were deep black stains from all the urine & feces.

So be as politically correct as you want, but it is an overwhelming smell that is incredibly hard to get rid of. and it also discolored, stains everything in sight.

I would stay away from light colors for rentals, too easy to stain, apparently the grain is looser than the darks.Around here granite is still steep, and they won't touch a small counter for under $750, my own 30 sq ft counter was $2k.

Ex) Ext & int paint, paint/buy new cabinets, carpets or staining/sealing hardwoods, new appliances, new countertops, new bathrooms, etc.