Most items have small imperfections that a home owner wouldn’t want but for a rental property they are perfect!

So you do get a durable surface, slight imperfections are "character", and you can do it over a laminate top.

@Austin GuzmanA few things that can add value to a home:fresh interior/exterior/cabinetry paintsingle pane windows swapped for double panekitchen and bathroom remodels (IF NEEDED)can lighting throughoutscrape popcorn ceilings for imperfect smoothbuild closet into large space for potential additional roomcurb appealnow keep in mind, these are ONLY going to add value to your home if the aspects of it you are improving are in bad shape already, swapping perfectly fine granite countertops for something that you like a little more won't add value

You won't need that with a glue down as the air pockets that transmit the noise should be minimized as long as you get a 3mm or thicker product; don't buy 2mm products as they show every imperfection in the subfloor unless that's not a concern.

I've decided to not do beadboard or plank but instead put some more work into scraping the popcorn off, and then touching up any areas that need it, and painting with a good flat paint to help hide any imperfections. 

On a flip you can get away with a few imperfections, on a luxury spec homes the expectations are similar to a brand new car.

You cannot see these mistakes with the raw wood but once it's finished, every little imperfection pops out. 

I would not worry about the waves and imperfections in the wood.

certainly not to make excuses for poor behavior; we as brokers and loan originators live and die by our customer service and referral business. but we are imperfect human beings. it could have been any number of things: personal reasons, immaturity, inexperience, ego... the list goes on. 

You're right that all the methods suggested are imperfect, but real estate investing is not a static mathematic equation, but rather an educated guess combined with creative thinking, flexible action, and a bit of luck.