You can tape a 12" strip of paper around the border of the room to the floor for spraying near the bottom of the wall.

Does it sound like I'm making general statements that can apply to wholesaling either houses or toilet paper?

Just cross out the parts of the new lease you don't agree with and sign and initial and date next to it.Have all tenants over 18 sign just like you did.In fact I would print name,sign name,initial and date for each area crossed out if you want to be ultra cautious.The landlord will have to agree,come back with a compromise,or get you out.They will have lost rent and reconditioning cost.So if you pay on time most likely they will not want to lose you over this.The fact that they overpaid for the house and are having a hard time covering the mortgage is NOT your problem as a tenant.You didn't hold their hand to the papers they signed at closing.Sounds like they put a bad tenant in and they trashed the place.You came along and the landlord barely had money to fix things.So see if they will keep the regular lease in place and don't get onto them too bad for too many more repairs.It sounds like they are headed to foreclosure or close to it as it is.no legal advice

And, cleaning/linens/towels/etc. fees need to be included in your running the numbers.

Get mid-line materials rates from HD and Lowes on paper, estimate cost of installation at 30-per hour for a 2-day job, 16 hours.Don't give an "Install them or I walk." ultimatum. 

Rather than wait for HELOC and run out of time with documentation and slow paper pushing through numerous people and underwriters, I found a hard money lender. 

No one can see around corners, or the end results.Everything here is excel sheets and personal opinions, which is why bankers lend and borrows borrow, yet borrows still default daily... it works on paper and opinion, but not always in the real world where you can take one deal, and two people, yet get completely  deferent results.BP is like a river, you can read the currents, but the decision when to jump in and swim, is all you!

I have disqualified him the day I met him - he was the only one that had no idea about the project (I emailed the punch list to every contractor before the open house), and didn’t have a piece of paper and a pen with him.

Our town isn't really Airbnb material so I doubt that would work to well.

Posting in the various news papers was almost wasted effort (UT, Reader, PennySaver, etc.).