Also some rotted wood framing in that area being replaced.

I looked into the furniture rental places and they had low end cheap looking furniture...but if there was a furniture rental place that had higher end products that might be an option...the thrift stores here also have good quality wood tables and chairs it is just a matter of having the time to go look and then coordinating delivery and such 

I love seeing people from my neck of the woods on BP..

@Dorcas Wood  Welcome to the community.

@Joanna Hollingsworth, I don't know if this will be much help to you since you are trying to protect the hardwoods below, but I'll usually take a large steel wrecking bar and attack the floor like a mad man by ramming the bar between the plywood layer and the wood flooring repeatedly with force, utilizing the tools weight for momentum, and prying straight upwards at the end of each stroke.

@Jennifer Lee@Jeremy Pace@Devin Woods@Gary Swank Thank your for the useful information.personally, I like Sharpsburg because it's flat, no hills and FC school District, but houses are relatively small and very close to each other, Beechview: of course the T is a plus, but with hillsBellevue/Avalon: easy access to 79,279 and 65, but with hillsI know I shouldn't complain about hills since we are in Pittsburgh. but do you(or tenants) have any negative experience with it in those areas?

If it's wood burning, then I would address chimney issues and make sure tenant knows what purpose the flue serves.If this is a house, good idea to have a fire extinguisher. 

Homes are getting new paint, rotted wood replaced, businesses opening up.

@Dorcas Wood Having your real estate license is another tool you can use to supplement your income while working on your investing.  

As far as bullet proof- laminate/hard wood or vinyl instead of carpet.