Don’t let them pull your score until you find a match with a great lender.

Learning to drywall and paint are straight forward, but if you are in a better area and you can't match wall texture or cut in a straight line, you may hurt yourself significantly and draw attention that makes people say "what other corners were cut?"

Even trying to get more tile or flooring a few weeks later would be a different lot and color could not match right. 

They vett companys, contractors to match you up with your project needs.

Personally, I have found direct mail to be the most cost efficient, but there are a number of other ways to source leads, but your message must match your targeted demographic.  

@Bryan Senker if you keep the colors, make sure to accessorize to match each room.

It's honestly just someone your paying let's say X amount per property they see that matches your description of a distressed property.

Another resource I use is the Real Wealth Network (they are out in California) and I found that to be a great source of information and if you meet the criteria they match you up with an adviser who can show you a few options.

There is a distinct possibility that you could end up on the hook for the lease?

To take it a step further try asking a local PM what they have rented similar properties in the neighborhood for and see how it matches up with what rentometer says