It is hard to live with roommates when you own the house, but all the things I noticed as issues with the home (wood floors scratched, kitchen granite stained, etc.) never even came up in the sale.

As they start tearing out the carpet they stop, declaring the place a health hazard due to the blood spatter stains on the plywood flooring.

For paint I recommend using a smell and stain blocking primer wherever the walls were previously dirty or any side paneling you take down.

Can I get opinions on Staining brick walls vs. painting them?

Ripped up layers of carpet to find decades old newspaper covering pine floors which were decent enough to lightly sand and stain.

Every 5-10 years the house needs to be stained.

Nothing wet, no stains any where. 

Run downCheck to see if the home looks tired- chipping paint, cracked windows, mold stains along the siding- you get the point.

If Red oak is too expensive, you CAN use white oak or a similar grain hardwood, and have a real tradesman match a stain to the existing woodwork.

The problem with carpet is it stains.