I am not saying you should allow tenants to willfully destroy property, but if you think 8-year old carpeting is worth $1000 (unless the guy burned through the subfloor, this is probably a couple hundred dollar repair, tops, swapped from a closet or some other inconspicuous place) and had to consult whether to replace a refrigerator handle (with a warning), I would recommend a little more perspective.

Sheet vinyl and laminate last for awhile, but have the great advantage of low labor costs to swap out.

Swap a broken washer with a good one and bring the broken one home to fix. 

The magnitron, the part that heats cost in many cases more than that  I don’t repair these in my personal units I simply swap if I get a call on them.

Tenants weren't on leases, no one was paying rent, they were swapping units and trading units within the building.

Try swapping washer/dryers or fridges without a truck!   

My wife and I were joking about swapping phones so that we could both do it, but that people we know who have both our numbers could still reach one of us if need be.

The plan was to eventually swap houses, for us to convert the rental into our primary residence and move the brothers into the smaller house.

For appliances I have a rule of thumb that if the parts and labor exceed 50% of the cost of a new unit I'll just swap it out. 

This changes a $1,000 panel swap out to a full blown $10,000 electrical update ...KNOW YOUR LOCAL CODE.