Judging from Graigs list and Realtor.com rent would be around $800.00.From the pictures, a new refrigerator will need to be purchased and wood floors will need to be redone.

Even if you send an email once a quarter, they may find it intrusive and they may paint a rosy picture while simultaneously trashing the place.

The guy told me he had it on Craigslist and I could see the pictures on there.

It was put on the market with one shoddy picture and no real details (except that it would be annoying to show), so I ignored it. 3.5 months later I noticed that the picture changed and so did the description, so I had to jump on it!

the shingles on the back of the house appear to be wavy and lifted up. is it just a bad picture or they do really look like this?

That's where this gets to be an art more than a science.I heavily document things with pictures and/or video before tenant occupancy.

I am touring the place soon but from pictures it looks like there is good flooring and cosmetics but the kitchen and bathrooms are old and could be updated with new appliances. 

If you decide to without the cost from their deposit take pictures of the damage to confirm the accuracy of doing this should they complain about this deduction later on.Gail

Can you share some pictures of the wood stove?

@Jimmy Vance I would continue to keep documentation (work order requests, etc..) but in particular take a lot of pictures between now and each time it rains.