So again in my mind if your going to go into depreciable rentals your in for the long haul or the exit is no where near what you can imagine today.. as your not really thinking about it and you don't know what the market will do at the time you want to exit.the property I have in escrow at 2.4 million is bare land.. so no deprecation but no income for 25 years.. flip side is I paid less than 30k cash for it in middle 90s.. now not sure what a better investment would have been  30k down payment on a rental or pay cash for some 30k ghetto dog.. who knows. 

Home staging, furnishing, included beach toys/boards, smart locks/lights/thermostat are a worthy investment and will push it into the high margin zone.

OP is a plasticizer  used in LVT in the past or for cheaper production and was banned in 2009 in all vinyl children's toys due to its link to autism.

Has anyone here toyed with tearing off the shingles, doing lap siding or board and batten siding in its place, and putting a pitched roof on the building? 

So first thing put ad out that everything goes and its free. you would be surprised at what other hoarders will think is of value.. then get bids from haul off companies.. in our area lead paint and asbestos's are real issues.. and must be mitigated prior to hauling to the dump. cost in these extreme Hoarder houses low of 15k the one in Lake O was 60k.. but that included the house.. so 40k just for trash removal.Or if your on a budget or cost conscience and have the time.. just order your own dumpsters.. go the day labor places.. ( our area its home depot parking lot) pick up day laborers and have at it.

If your car is nickle and diming you deal with it for a while , but start looking for a decent pick up truck  ( not the bad A$$ diesel ones even though they are cool)  With a truck you can make extra cash , when you get a property it will need work , you have a truck  to haul things .

Also, it just didn't seem right that I had to haul away a truckload of junk. 

Demo labor and hauling of debris mostly.The landscaping like you mentioned is complicated...

Since my professional career is in contracting I have a good grasp on how most contractors generally estimate and it is an art and each trade is different.Also if you are in it for the long haul there are some good estimating software options out there that are reasonable ($200) if you have the time they are a great learning tool.

OTOH, if they did cash out refi's and bought toys and went on vacation, they may have a tax bill.