You may need some new paint, carpets, landscaping, cleaning, or just general maintenance.

Beyond that, maybe a signed agreement that you have cleaned the area with the appropriate cleaner, repainted, and the tenant is responsible for all subsequent problems in the affected area.

But the useful life of carpet may only be 7 years (I'm making that up).

In a low income area, old (but clean) carpet, laminate counter tops, low-end appliances…etc are all perfectly fine and generally commensurate with market expectations—especially if you price it aggressively.To a family with low income, stable housing is far more important that high end finishes generally speaking.But, in a high income area, the quality of finishes will be a major determinant in desirability and you are going to have a tenant pool less resistant to moving if necessary to find a home that they feel is “worth their money” as well as greater disposable income to pay for what they really want compared to just what they need.But, as a layer deeper than just the quality of finishes, you need to perform quality maintenance.What this means is, when there is a problem, you need to actually solve it, not just paper it over for repeated headaches for your tenant.Imagine you have a sewer main that needs repair or replacement.The tenant’s toilet gets stopped up and overflows.

Replaced carpet in one - the other was all vinyl.

Two thoughts come immediately to mind:Unless you can articulate in excruciating detail why your friend is so motivated to get away from this property, and then describe in detail your solid plan for addressing all those issues, you will BE your motivated seller friend in a few months/years if you buy this thing.I would aim for buying subject to existing financing (search "subject to" here on BP), rather than via "lease-to-own" or JV: It's generally cleaner and simpler.

The living rooms had carpet. 

then my carpet guy got thrown in jail, another worker had his mom pass away back east, etc., so I am doing a lot of the work myself. 

I repainted the entire house, shampooed carpets, patched holes in walls, fixed plumbing and refinished the deck.

This house was smoked in for decades and smelled horrible, plus had animal waste everywhere; however, we spent $10,000 doing simple repairs and paint/carpet to turn it into a great investment.