We will be remodeling, new granite, floors, paint, hvac, etc.

His friend does not help with lawncare, has had an unauthorized pet on the premises, and has painted a room (causing damage to the floors and trim) which also violated the lease agreement.

There's a large, unused space that's bare bones on the ground floor (as in looks like a basement, concrete floors and walls)  that could be renovated into an extra 1 bedroom unit.  

Anyone can do painting and flooring without being licensed or pulling permit.And also this "A few years ago Hammond cracked down on "split" properties; where LLs took SFR's and converted them to duplexes/tris by making the basement or attic areas separate living spaces." 

t=2974i wish i had a good answer. my last tenant that left trashed my rental. i didn't check in on them and they apparently made extra income by dog sitting. my doors/walls/floors were torn up. funtimes.one thing to do is add a line item in the lease agreement that you will do quarterly inspections of the inside of property, and point this out to them before they sign the agreement.

New floors will be engineered wood.

Are all the units the same floor plan?

I assume you would need to rip the carpet out and install new hardwood floors.

The ONLY flaw that I can visually see is that the first floor has some beautiful tile (not sure on the type... it's really thick tile and kind of like stone or slate?)

I would like to do wood/laminate flooring throughout and granite counter tops as I think those would last the longest and not have to be changed every time a tenant changes.