Threw in a new living room carpet, new tub & surround & that apartment rented immediately for $875/month.

When I showed up I found most of their kitchen drawers and cabinets contents still there, trashed carpets with motor oils (tracked in from working on his car in the garage), half of a 2 car garage full of trash bags, a broken window, lots of stuffed animals and art supplies, and about 150 empty 12 pack cardboard containers of Keystone Light and as many cans.

My new unit has carpet throughout the entire unit excluding the kitchen (yes even the bathrooms) and of course I have to rip that stuff out.

I don’t know what a “mess” is by your standards, but that could just as easily be your expectations being off or your communication of requirements not being good enough.

And when looking at properties, you want to find solid houses with ugly carpet, or needs a roof and furnace replacement.  

In my nicer units I put the vinyl plank in living and dining room and carpet in bedrooms except for upstairs units I put carpet in living room for sound dampening.

I'll reconsider long term leases after this whole pandemic mess is over.That said, in my experience tenants usually don't care about the lease. 

My tenants are 25+ so it doesn't get too messy... if tenants were college for example, I'd definitely do a cleaning service!  

The issue is the tenant believes the whole ceiling needed torn down and replaced with new crown moulding and carpet as well.

It's not difficult to dress up a property, get great pics, and put in a tenant for a short time that wants to live in a newly carpeted home with an updated kitchen.