Does your lease state that the premises should be kept clean and orderly?

And no dont do pink tiles becasue that is what one person wants for their 7 year old daughter - that is too limiting.genrally people want clean and comfort and ease - so if one item is not going to look clean with usual wear get one that will (usually black shows the dirt, as does stainless) - an as has been said, the inexpensive touch ups like nice hardware, a better countertop finish that wears well are the things you will want - think back to your life as a renter to help.

IMHO anything other than a clean contract negates or nearly negates the premise we are operating under- which is a bird in hand is better than two in the bush.  

So I let her know it's part of the routine maintenance / cleaning schedule, would you do it annually thereafter?

Dog urine can be cleaned up but cat urine will ruin a house.

The money was conditioned on a checklist that I gave them prior to the close that detailed what the exact conditions of each of the requirements were, "broom-clean, free of debris, all seller-owned appliances left in good working order" etc.Many of the tenants, knowing that the bank would likely evict them in a few months anyway, were cooperative enough to leave the property in "not-horrible" condition.

Let's say you want me to climb a tall ladder to clean the gutters.  

Lower end rentals, clean and works are all I care about.

@Matt ShamusThanks for the support...We got the seller to replace roof and gutters as part of the deal, other than that just some light clean up in laundry areas. 

You can extend the length between the buy and sell transactions to perform limited repairs or clean-outs to sell it for even higher, even though it costs you a few hundred dollars.