They said they would come back to clean the apartment a couple of times but are not doing so. 

Not only it creates greater cash flow, but helps in creating a good 'history' for bankers when they see you have managed a prior loan more cleanly.

I decided that my "standard" is much higher than that, and I decided I would not buy a property to rent unless I would be comfortable living there myself.I found a 3-bedroom, 2 bath single family residence that has been recently updated and is clean and fresh. 

He has been with me for 3 years.Then I have two gals that work 20 to 30 hours a week. 1 just paints the other paints and cleans.

Better to just have a simple LLC, take any basic steps you can to increase anonymity, run a clean business, and have good insurance.

Sometimes it's hard to tell in pictures, but if prospects can tell that the property has been cleaned and detailed well (as opposed to broom finished), it can be motivating.

How clean is the place.

“Bright and clean and move in ready!

I immediately got it rented for $1200/month with only doing a deep cleaning.

So when I actually closed on the house I had already cleaned it out, the painting was almost complete, the heating system was thawed out, repaired and working, and the agreement was written up and presented to the neighbor.