I would say majority of travel nurses are hard working, well educated, well paid, and overall great people and tenants just looking for a clean, comfortable, and safe place to stay at a reasonable price.   

Please feel free to give feedback on my cost-per-square-foot range:Cosmetic fix: basic carpet, paint, flooring, new hardware, clean up, repair a few things project.

Plumbing, Electric, HVAC, Drywall, Gas etc.

The property is clean and cute so congrats there, but some, comfy, cozy, stylish spaces would go a long way! 

I’m defining general light work as plank flooring, painting, minor electrical, etc..For example - is it fair to estimate flooring labor as $3/square foot?

If the tenants are being picky, it is also possible that they are being picky because of the shortcomings of the PM so they may not be able to (understandably) trust that the unit and carpets were actually cleaned. 

Get your dryer's exaust cleaned before you open up the unit for rent and periodically therafter.

Then go price your labor plumbing electric, roof, finish outs, and landscaping.     

We also had some exposed wires under the house that required some minor electric upgrades to bring to code.

Still you’ll need to fix any plumbing, electrical, door etc type issues which likely are in bad shape.