I am going to make sure all of the blinds are drawn when I show the property tomorrow.

I would definitely change the blinds on that big pretty window- the more natural light the better!

Plus one room of carpet is ruined beyond saving, blinds are broken/missing, screens knocked off the house, window sills torn loose and the list goes on.

If you can do some inexpensive things like painting, or curtains/blinds, and/or deep cleaning then I think that is much better solution than dropping the rent. 

Biggest mistake is blindly trusting your contractors and doing an out of state deal right away.

Not enough responses = priced too high (assuming your marketing is dialed in).  10 showings w/out an application = something is wrong with the unit (cosmetically: not clean, didn't replace blinds, etc = clean it up more) OR (functionally: unit has issue that comparable units in the neighborhood don't have - street noise, weird layout, etc = lower price to combat issue).  

If you're buying cash  you can't go blindly unless you are a pro and know your numbers you can hit. 

It tells them that I will charge for damage like stained carpets, torn draperies, broken blinds, excessively dirty walls and uncleaned units upon turnover. 

My cats did mess up the sub $10 blinds at my old apartment.

Just to common sense stuff-make sure windows are open (ie curtains and blinds), if the place is vacant let her walk around on her own, give her space, etc.