When confronted, the tenant said that they are fake and only to create the illusion of someone's always watching To deter any wrong doing.

It's an illusion.  

Albert Einstein once said, " reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."  

The other paintings that give the illusion of bigger rooms are amazing.

Now I'm under no illusion, those shows have houses that were sold with people living in them to people that are going to move in immediately.

The illusion of knowledge is strong with your friendAnd me tooI’m commenting on a Canadian property when I know zilch about Canada and the rental market

Buy one of each and see how it works out for you. you seem to be under the illusion that the PM controls the deal.. when in fact the PM is not there hand holding the tenant they make the best decisions based on experience to put a tenant in your unit.. but they are not babysitters.

The first appearance indicating that a place needs cleaning and rehabbing gives the prospect the illusion that your terms are more-negotiable and drives the price down.It also depends on the buyer, how much rehabbing the property needs and your financial ability to rehab the property.

In reality that isn't feasible on a repeatable basis, it will require an investment into the business, but the illusion of needing no money and making 'easy' capital on the back of hard work is appealing. 

IUGHHH  the "70% rule"Don't EVER do say consider this again.It is an illusion, no it is not "just a guide", it is wrong, misleading, if it worked for you in the past it was just luck!