Most people can't visualize the difference and in the case of dogs, smell the difference.My first rental was 15 years ago and I started showing the house immediately even though it took a month and a half to renovate.

The level of interest (100 inquires/40 showings) to the ratio of applications (3) definitely points to something in the unit or showing process that is a deterrent or amiss.And I agree with the prior posts noting many renters (your applicants), lack what we'd call "imagination" in seeing how this unit "will look" when you are done and out of the place.

Show them the numbers and provide some graphs if they're visual learners.

If you plan on having to share the kitchen then to me that's a bit of a deterrent, I don't know how the shared space market is within vacation rentals personally, I do know from my own research that the majority of the market isn't a shared space and most of the bookings that come through airbnb are with places that are not a shared space, this directly contradicts airbnb's message of being a platform that helps homeowners rent out spare bedrooms as I believe from the information I've found it's something like 70% of their bookings are for an entire unit.

If she likes you that much maybe even show her your numbers on paper or the brrr calculator report. it might be hard to explain but maybe with the visual plus your rapport she will meet you where you need to be

Waiting until you have enough money to purchase a larger priced property might become a deterrent to jumping into the investing game.  

I learn best by hands-on/ visual.

The other items are visual only inspections and no additional inspections are done to find the source of the issueHUD will do no repairs nor provide any price reductions. 

If its an occupied foreclosure where the bank "knows nothing" and there are "no interior inspections - do not disturb tenants", at least visually inspect the exterior for signs of deferred maintenance and look for signs of occupancy like an empty mailbox @7pm, lights on, car tracks in snow, prior to making your offer. 

I would say just the visual impact of walking into a well staged house vs an empty house makes a big impact on the buyer.