The biggest changes were simply making the place new buy re-painting in neutral colors, replacing some very bold colors they had before; such as the dark red dining room.

What happens if, after your contractor completed the job, you realize that you forgot to ask him to repaint the cabinet doors in the hall bath and install two extra outlets in the kitchen?

@Robert Rixer, I don't know how creative these are, as many are common plays:Valet TrashFencing in first floor yardsProviding washer and dryers for added rentReserved, Covered parkingTech PackagesInternet and Cable contracts, with reimbursementsPayment Plan rents, with small service charge (i.e. bill 1/4 rent each week)Reserved Rental cabanas at poolPrivate pool party rental optionGolf Simulator in clubhouse - fee basedOn site, self serve car wash (quarter feeder style)Charged group fitness/personal training servicesGame room in clubhouse with monthly subscription for tenants (Xbox, Playstation, etc)Changing out high maintenance grass for astro turf or lower maintenance/lower water use shrubberyBut ultimately, I think a lot of NOI increases come from deep dive into understanding EVERY expense and finding ways to minimize them, and/or no outsource them.Train maintenance team on basic HVAC and appliance repairs (find way to get them licensed as needed)Buy paint sprayers for faster, easier turns versus having to hire a contract painter, and possibly repaint whole unit each timeStandardize all finishes, so you can buy in bulk, everything from hinges and door knobs to cabinets, paint colors, and light fixtures.Potentially get leasing people onto lower base salary with higher bonus potentialBulk/bundled insurance across portfolio (even better at scale is to self insure)Regularly test sprinkler systems for leaks.Non-NOI, but benefit to you: partner with insurance agency to get referral kickbacks from your tenant base for renter insurance.  

Repainted entire unit.

For a Lead Safe certificate (which shows that lead dust levels are within tolerances and has to be re-done periodically, as opposed to Lead Free, which shows that there isn't any lead to worry about and doesn't have to be renewed) almost all scenarios can be remediated by cleaning or repainting (followed by cleaning, of course). 

Let the electrician cut his/her pockets for pulling the new wire and do the patches, then seal everything with an oil-based primer and repaint.

Then you would run a new conduit to the new heating units.Then patch drywall, and repaint. 

We even created a 'sight unseen' addendum to be included with every lease so tenants know that unless they asked for contingencies [ie: repaint entire home] the home is as-is, so they should not expect a freshly painted property unless they asked for it prior to signing the lease.

Hence my cost to repaint $1000-1500 per unit.  

Instead of them performing a general assessment which is cheaper they chose to do an inspection which is more invasive and discovered that the porch needed to be scraped and repainted which was something that was never addressed in their general walkthrough and inspection of the home after the renovations and incurring more costs.