@Wendy Harden, we are in the exact same boat. 

Worst contractors are used and they will do the bare minimum. save your money. do a solid rehab up front to harden rental and find a good handyman for in between.

You'd never expect the hardened investor insider.

@Nathan Harden Yes she wants my dad and uncles to collect an inheritance.

He has had a great line up of speakers who are battle-hardened veterans in the multifamily space.

Turns out our American ideas translate to any language and the underlining resin hardener is the dollar. 

Just harden the property and advertise "smokers welcome". 

Unless its a ground floor space and over hardened flooring (tile or related), fish tanks can be risky.

@Dean Klein, since the owner has been in the area for so long, i would chat with him if he can recommend you some local vetted tradesmen/handyman.there is a very fine line between "there's the new guy, lets get some money from him" and "there's the new guy, i want to work with him, he's a good guy".also, score the BP for the sub30k threads or how to harden my rentals. this may or may be not a full-time "job".remember, even in bad areas, people want nice things. look for "lazy landlord" series and @Steve Maduro as a start.

Once they are up and running (and appropriately "hardened" for rental), they kind of run themselves.