Agreed, however this will be the fireplace wall, so the bottom half will be (black) tiles -- so those are not as easily changed as paint.

@Antonio Daniels 1-there are no different standards for screening...what you will find is that they will likely not meet your earning requirements (like 3x rent)...so you have to make exceptions...they also have very colorful backgrounds for the most part...after screening hundreds of section 8 tenants, definite patterns will appear...if you have a credit score requirement, odds are they will not meet there either (but there are fantastic voucher tenants out there as well...I've rented to nurses and other professionals with a voucher do to having a disabled child that needs a lot of services)...the one thing to be aware of is not treating them differently because they have voucher...2-The inspection depends on local authority, but the standards are the same...this is a federal program...so Housing Quality Standards (HQS) is the guiding document...how an inspector interprets that is another story...https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfil...3-Usually you will only have recertification annually, or possibly at an income change or a request or complaint...4-100%, it's one of the best sources of long-term steady income out there...I'll take a section 8 tenant over a white collar A-class tenant any day...plus you are helping to house the most vulnerable and underserved population out there.The bad things you hear about section 8 are from folks that do not understand the system and how it works, or want to be slumlords and not take care of their properties...or are ill prepared to deal with people in general.

We planned to put wood look tile throughout the bottom floor.

We have been installing new subfloors and vinyl tile one room at a time and tenant has to move all their stuff from each room each time, and then back after install complete. 

Things like quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, in-unit laundry, new tile, new outlets & switches, doors, trim, etc.

Meaning you have your own tile guy or you're going to do the painting at the end?

I think you can't be 100% about anything, and I start there because I caught a lot of emotion-driven thought patterns in how you are viewing the situation.

SF) with higher end finishes (Quartz tops, tile and hardwood flooring, stainless steel appliances) What was the outcome?

This translates into maybe putting tile in place of worn out carpet, etc.Other tips - have a wind mitigation and 4 point inspection done….

I would be able to boost the monthly gross rent to about $2600 with 800 sqft of LVP installation and tiling the walls of 2 showers (currently drywall with peeling paint).