Marble counter tops, textured floor, etc on theinside.

The seller will lose some rent, potentially incur costs to evict, possibly costs to clean out the units depending on your sales agreement.

By the time I arrived in the evening, everything was torn up—floors, walls, plumbing.

A contractor was there that day to fix the floor, and said there was not problem with the heat.

Keep the wood (or sheetrock if you choose) an inch or two off the floor to not wick water.

CA really cleaned up the fractional note business from my days of doing it in the 80s..

LTR tenants are required to have the home professionally cleaned. 

With seller's permission: Unscrew the shower head and put it on shower floor.

You mean the water was so heavy that it cracked the floor joists and the entire floor and basement ceiling fell in?

Purchased for $139,999 using a mix of cash and hard money, we revamped it with modern updates, including a new kitchen, flooring, and fresh paint.The property rented for three years, generating steady cash flow of $450/month.