@Chrissy Arnold, good point there, what I know is that you have to create a marketing material to funnel those target sellers by identifying there pains and future plans as for absentee owner.

OPTION 2)  Replace living room, kitchen and dining room floors with luxury vinyl plank - $3240 ($2240 materials, $1000 labor).Pros:Downstairs will have uniform flooring, making it look nicer + bigger (could yield higher rents and quicker tenant placement on turnover?).

I have a similar clause in my management agreement:Owner agrees to protect, defend, indemnify, and hold Broker harmless from any damage, costs, attorney’s fees, and expenses that:(1) Are caused by Owner, negligently or otherwise;(2) Arise from Owner’s failure to disclose any material or relevant information about the Property;(3) Are caused by Owner providing any incorrect information to any person; or(4) Are related to the management of the Property and not caused by Broker, negligently or otherwise.When searching for a Property Manager, it's important to interview several and compare their management agreement, lease agreement, policies and procedures, etc.

You can start with the Beginner's Guide, it would be a good material to learn REI. 

I visited Home Depot and was very impressed with the thickness and toughness of the material.

Paying too much up front (more than enough for initial materials or a small percentage), not holding them to at least a generalized timeline, or paying ahead of any work can all get you into trouble.

Not only are your costs higher but so are your material costs for rehabs/renos (you may also need to give the unit a new look more often to match the expectations of the HGTV loving tenants and to keep you competitive in the marketplace) also people tend to overlook the fact that white collar tenants can be really needy.

$15.2k total including materials, labor, and engineering inspection.

I don't recall the exact cost because it was part of a scope of work that included $50k of work, but in terms of labor and material costs dedicated to this exact task it wasn't too much.

Well I know I can get laminate over top for under $2/sq. ft. for materials and labor.Doesn't refinishing cost about $2/sq. ft. for labor alone?