I prefer oak for its durability.

Unless your home is in the foothills and is a high end rental, then I'd say the main things would be ease of maintenance, and durability.

In Santa Barbara, these appreciation investors pay too much to acquire and thereby create unreasonable comps that make it difficult for a buy-and-hold investor to acquire the property and do a nice quality, sturdy and durable rehab for a reasonable price, let alone a bargain price.

Laminate,  lasts longer is more durable as well as higher demand for consumers.

If its a rental go with whats durable and look good.Fence...

Some landlords have the guarantors actually be co-signatories to the lease, I would advise strongly against putting them on the lease (which gives them right to access as any other tenant), but execute a separate guarantee agreement with then in which the assume the financial obligations of their guarantee (who is on the lease), but have no further rights ... essentially they have the right to pay the bill if Little Johnny messes-up.If you renovate with students in-mind (durability, ease to clean, current), you do not need to have high-end finishes (no granite counters), but do use quality, mid-grade materials.  

I would like middle range DURABLE materials since it's in a nice doorman building (ie I'm personally fine with formica, but prospective tenant may want granite counter-tops given the building's contemporary amenities)...Also, regarding countertops, I don't really follow what's new.. is GRANITE still the best ROI option for something nice but DURABLE (I don't want to replace over the years)?

Once you have only B tenants, you can appeal to A tenants (the best available for your particular area).Also, when renovating, keep in mind not to over improve for the area and to keep the finishes as durable as possible to make turnovers easier.If this is your first multifamily investment, welcome to the club and please ask any questions you may have.  

My kitchen counter is smoothed finished with an epoxy, it's not as durable you can see hair line scuffs over time.

(Live in AK so it needs to be durable to the elements.)