I find the incremental cost to be a good ROI and doesn't require continued maintenance and upkeep the same way as an upgrade feature such as higher end appliances that will have a shorter life expectancy.

Like putting the deal together, renovating or upgrading,, management, etc.

This can be broken up into chunks but ideally want to keep it together

Unless you are in an area that couples are the vast majority of clientele, your money is probably best used by upgrading the existing place's amenities (like adding a hot tub or firepit) and/or upgrading finishes. 

@Andrew Foster some decent advice here, but also some feedback from those who really don't have enough info to support their perspective.Many DIY investors price repairs on materials only and forget about labor as they do their own work.We're a PMC in Metro Detroit, but here's how our process would work:1) MoveOut Video & Pics used to create Scope Of Work (SOW)2) SOW broken down into Priority Categories:- Health & Safety- Government Required (municipality/S8 inspection requirements)- Property Preservation- Marketing Impact / Tenant Retention- Miscellaneous3) Bids obtained if we feel work will exceed Owner Approval Threshold4) Bid sent & discussed with owner to, "redline to their budget"5) Work begins once owner approves & funds6) Completion video/pics providedOf course, while this is going on our Marketing Dept would be doing a rental analysis & ad, and discussing with owner.

.: I have a SFR in Southern California, the past tenants moved out about six months ago, and due to some repairs/upgrades and market conditions did not find a new tenant until recently. 

I did not take away from it the host should be a newbie, but I agree, the host should not be a newbie in real estate.What we found actually works best is when you have a newbie with an experienced person so the information can go deep but also be broken down in a simple way to explain things.  

The unit was never upgraded in the last 20 years.

Value was added to the property by upgrading the interior of it. ( floor, bathroom, cabinets, and fresh paint) and topping it with love.

We have probably 80% laminate and 20% quartz and granite in our class B portfolio and I can't justify the cost difference to upgrade to stone.We go with stock laminate, because if you go higher end or custom sizes your price is getting so close to stone that you might as well do the upgrade.