Worked hard and repainted the whole thing and did some minor updating to get the house ready.

And that my friends is the moral and the importance of me sharing this story.In the event that the 3 years passes and I decide not to exercise my option, I will have to cover the carpet cleaning costs and repaint the walls.

I rehabbed the common area, added a washer/dryer hookup to units that didn't have one already, reglazed all of the exterior windows, repainted the exterior, added functional off street parking for 4 cars, and rehabbed all of the units.

I understand the damage was extensive, but *big whistle* that's pretty steep for repairs and refinishing, especially when considering it was not a 'one-off' and has been consistent with all your properties.Most I have ever paid was around 2k, and while the property was not demo'd, it was banged up pretty good by teens who broke in while it was vacant and threw a party and 'vandalised' it, requiring patches, replaced doors, new carpet, repaired cabinets, repainted walls, etc (this was in Columbia MO)

I can tell you from personal experience wood siding is not a concern if it's in good condition,  if it's rotting , holes, warped , Then new siding might be a good move but honestly if it's saveable it's better to do a good cleaning and a repaint.

from what I can tell, looks like repainted walls/kitchen cabinets, new SS appliances, some new light fixtures, carpets in the room, repainted/replaced doors in the room

Or, do you leave it in place and try to repaint the walls in a way that makes it look better?

The roof needed to be replaced, and it was initially though, the siding repainted.

Those little things really make the unit pop when potential tenants come view the unitAlong with the fire rated doors being installed we also replaced some and repainted the trim around the doors.Tomorrow & FridayFlooring in the bathroom of the 1st floor back rear unitcarpet in the living room and bedroom of the 1st floor back rear unitpainting of the unitThe pesky shower valveWe expected our plumber to be out tomorrow to replace the shower valve that needed replacing in one of the units. 

I believe you can easily argue that a combination of a permit for plumbing or electrical, plus the tenant having too much stuff, makes it that you would need vacant possession for things like repainting and changing the floors.I have also found that in many cases, the tenant will not try to move back in after the renovations.