Thanks, Wm. Very good information.
Do you find that when a tenant moves in on a month-to-month lease that they tend to stay a year or so, anyway, since moving is such a hassle?
Yes, most stay several years as long as I hold up my end making sure repairs are done in a timely manner. I do get burned on occasion, but the flip side is if I have a tenant who doesn't respect other tenant's rights to privacy it's easy to get rid of them.
One suggestion is if you can just have hardwood floors. It's easier and cheaper to buff them and put down another coat of polyurethene when tenants move. If you have carpeting think about dyeing it instead of replacing it.