Be careful to not over cover your self but be careful to match the coverage to your risk tolerance.

So can I write a new lease saying that the rent must be pay in full on the 1st of each month and if check arrive after the 1st a penalty of $75 will be taken off their deposit and is that legal at all?

They won't have the paint to match anyway.  

congrats on your journey. in my experience i have refinished hw floors and installed thousands and thousands of square feet of laminate floors. the issue i have found with laminate floors is if they ever require a repair down the road it is unlikely you will be able to get an exact match for the floor you installed  X years ago. hardwood floors can be refinished several times and look great when done right. you assumption on carpet is pretty accurate. we tend to install a mid-grade carpet (not the cheapest carpet available)  and as long as tenant did not totally trash it we have been able to get it cleaned and in some cases even dyed it a different color if we could not get the stains out but yes we replace a lot of carpet after tenants leave. 

When assigning or double closing I pretty much always open the escrow and deposit the EMD.  

Security deposits, etc. 

All of this is assuming the property is dated and in need of those types of visual improvements.Always keep in mind you are much better off matching renovations of the higher price point within your area, but not doing more.

Section 34.03(a), Tax Code, is amended to read asfollows: (a) The clerk of the court shall: (1) if the amount of excess proceeds is more than $25,before the 31st day after the date the excess proceeds are receivedby the clerk, send by certified mail, return receipt requested, awritten notice to the former owner of the property, at the formerowner's last known address according to the records of the court orany other source reasonably available to the court, that: (A) states the amount of the excess proceeds; (B) informs the former owner of that owner'srights to claim the excess proceeds under Section 34.04; and (C) includes a copy or the complete text of thissection and Section 34.04; [and] (2) regardless of the amount, keep the excess proceedspaid into court as provided by Section 34.02(d) [34.02(c)] for aperiod of two years after the date of the sale unless otherwiseordered by the court; and (3)regardless of the amount, send to the attorneygeneral notice of the deposit and amount of excess proceeds if theattorney general or a state agency represented by the attorneygeneral is named as an in rem defendant in the underlying suit forseizure of the property or foreclosure of a tax lien on theproperty.

@Adam K. unfortunately because I'm still a noob in this area I wouldn't be able to tell you the areas that are up and coming but I know that some great living area is Riverdale and of course price tags will match.

I remember  reading something about making a deal with a seller and charging them a application fee or deposit but I can't remeber.