Their insurance policy exists to indemnify you and bring you financially whole because of their action/inaction.Now, IF the tenant let their policy lapse and you were not notified, you'll probably need to take them to small claims for your deductible--may as well sue for eviction at the same time and start over with new tenants in a fresh house.

I am 21, freshly graduated, and living in Santa Monica with ~$30k saved up for this.

Fresh paint, new lighting, new floors, kitchens and bathrooms up to par with the rent amount, anything extra that could entice renters whether it is a place for them to store their bike or a designated area under the steps for a dog bed.

But the gurus always have fresh victims, I mean students, filling up the seminars. 

So I modified the layout with a completely fresh idea and it also turned out amazing.

It costs you vacancy, fresh paint, new flooring, potentially other updates. 

The old contractor kept adding change orders and ran it up so we found a new one and everytime we started from scratch, the last payment to the old contractor didn't count and we had to start fresh.

This is a good opportunity for you to start with a fresh tenant using your own lease, rules and regulations.

It would be nice to get my children into some fresh air for a healthy break.

Fresh paint.