Pulling up the carpets and refinishing the hardwood / installing a nice vinyl, some new mid-grade appliances and fresh paint should do the trick.That being said... why don't you fly out there and physically walk through other units for rent in that area (basically pretend to be a renter)?

Put a new roof on, updated plumbing, minor remodel in bathroom/kitchens, new paint interior and exterior, and refinished existing hardwoods.

We ripped out bad carpet and put it laminate hardwood throughout.

But here is what I see:- The hardwood floors were painted and need to be retouched.

This is in San Francisco so not sure how SoCal estimates would be: Hauling away 3 truck loads of debris:  $4000 Demolition: $6240Plumbing: $22,029Electrical $47,558 (all throughout the house including new panel, it had old knob and tube wiring)Sheetrock: $16,700Tiling: $22,600 (including kitchen backsplash and tile floors in kitchen and 3 bathrooms)Interior Paint $19,200 (smoothed out textured walls and paint all rooms) Insulation: $4890 (exterior walls, 1st and 2nd floors on exposed ceilings and walls and bathrooms for noise barrier)New baseboards and trim casing $1360Flooring $11,000 (new flooring in hallway and kitchen, refinish existing hardwood floors in other rooms)I hope this gives you some ballpark numbers to give you some ideas.

I can remember when nice hardwood floors were covered with wall to wall shag carpet.

Hardwood flooring throughout home. 

Hardwood floors.

Genuine oak hardwood floors were newly sanded/refinished less than a month before tenant moved in.

Removing any items that make the property look dated like green toilets, blue sinks, pink tubs can help, updating all the light fixtures, removing old carpet to expose hardwood floors, removing wall paper and painting can all help with an appraisal.