Beyond scrubbing the walls + painting, pulling carpet, sanding and applying a few coats onto the hardwoods, do you all have any other tips/tricks or favourite things to do when re-habbing a unit - especially since she certainly smoked inside?

They do a super brief inspection (like open the door and look for a smoke detector) and sign your paperwork and leave.

Your smoking "hopeium"! 

I convinced them to forgo the sprinklers as i put in hard wired smokes. 

We also write in our leases that we can inspect smoke detectors once a month, so we can enter the properties regularly and take a look around.

No bedroom door, no smoke detector, few other tricks can make it happen.

On the front page of the lease I list in large letters my rules of no smoking, no pets and no day care of other peoples children.

I know a guy if you need someone.You'll send in the form, the money, the inspection passed sheet, and also I think forms you sign saying you have carbon monoxide/smoke detectors.Be sure you read the instructions thoroughly on the form! 

After I had a good estimate I added 15% on top of my number which came out to be right around 4,000 since I knew I would miss something and that is what helped me decide if I was going to close on the property or walk away.I did not do anything to the plumbing however some of the electrical I had to rerun lines and also had to hard wire the smoke detectors in the basement and second floor because of a Baltimore County law.

anything you add (new handrail, lighting) needs to meet new code.with safety issues like the basement stair treads, you might keep the basement off-limits (move laundry to main floor maybe).before renting, check with your city/county for rules for rentals - they may require smoke detectors installed (one in each bedroom near door, one outside each sleeping area, one on each floor level).FYI, during a remodel, if you install/update your Mechanical, Electrical or Plumbing systems, you may need to update that system in the whole house.