About the basement: It's partially finished (drywalls and ceiling only) with no bathroom or kitchen.Since it's a considerably smaller house, I am not sure if this would add significant value to the house if we sell it say 5 years down the line.

Replaced floors, scraped popcorn ceilings, repainted inside and out, remodeled bathrooms, updated fixtures.

I will be doing almost 3' undercut as aiming for 9' ceiling.

After spending 20K on a remodel prior to move-in, the tenant chose to hang more than 50 items from the ceilings and walls.

I have an unfinished basement with 8-foot ceilings.

On the inside, the apartment was left pretty dirty..greasy stove from oil being over heated, dust all over ceiling and walls(an impressive amount), wall stains from what looks like candles or incense burning?

I believe that may be the first step to coordinating the bridge to shopping for homes with your agent as you'd have a more definite price ceiling.

Then, look at any updates that might bring in MORE or HIGHER rents, such as kitchen, baths, fresh paint, clean floors (carpet or hard surfaces), ceiling fans, window AC units, etc.

I added value by redesigning the kitchen and opened up the space by vaulting the ceiling, relocating the stairs, and knocking down some walls.

Shortly after the first floor ceiling collapsed.