The house has recently been rehabbed and is in very good condition with new, although cheap, carpet.

I would definitely get a few nice but cheap pieces of furniture to stage the house a bit next time.

If you cheap out on materials or don't get what the contractor specifies, the 75% remaining cost in labor hours will go up and the quality of the materials certainly impact the amount of time it takes to install them.

Compare this to about 1.25 sqft for cheap laminate.

option B- Find a decent used one for cheap and get it done.

And because the meth cookers dumped chemicals in the yard they had to dig up truckloads of dirt and dispose of it as a biohazardous substance.

Chemicals are not cheap either.

You can get one cheap, and put section 8 in there that pays a good buck. there is enough to even have a local manager run it for you.

A old investor friend of mine-who had rentels in the tough areas says a quick cheap test is: On your next walk thru, to cut a potatoe in half and rub it on the wall if it turns purple you have meth in your house. and then tell the tenants bye bye

Another thread here on BP already where somebody even posted the difference in pricing:http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/76696-trafficmaster-allure-ultra-wood-vinyl-plankshttp://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/81/topics/65160-cheap-wood-floors-or-cheap-carpet-rental-Here is a link to some Lumber Liquidators' product:http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalog/thumbnail.jsp?