I had a previous tenant with a dog destroy everything in the home and I had to replace all the furniture, queen sleeper, mattress, bedding, linens, area rugs, flooring, so I am really leery about renting to people with pets now.

Before leaving I even rented a rug doctor and cleaned the carpets.

Also, yes, this is a very family oriented town/neighborhood with above average schools. 

Of course, if you are using area rugs, those might suffice to keep the coldness of the tile at bay.  

Underwriting was quite slow and not very detail oriented and they do this weird thing where they take over insurance - and insist it be put in their name - before closing.

Find a seasoned, investor oriented title company that knows the ins and outs of the whole thing.

I am a motivated goal oriented person. 

My goal here was more practice-oriented.

Absolutely work with an attorney to make sure the owner can't pull the rug--or in this case, the dirt--out from under you.

Is it okay to ask or require a new tenant to cover a certain percentage of the floors with rugs?