Let's set a date and time in October.

Would I have been able to charge higher rent if my property had been ready for an August 1 start date?

After that, we now keep tabs on how up to date tenants are in paying their utilities.Keeping tabs on the water usage by looking at the bill will also help you identify leaks or unauthorized occupants, as the water usuage will spike for either of those reasons.

They kept changing our appointment date to meet to do the walk through.

It allows you to post each expense, it allows you input type and date of repair on each property so you know how old the water heater is from its own page, etc. 

It's eerily similar to my first rehab (a dated brick rancher), which will close in 3 weeks.

How respectfully do they enter and tour the unit?

Usually, buildings that are eye-sores in the community attract attention the owners do not want because they're usually fined if the problem isn't corrected by a certain date with increases in fines the longer the problem exist.

I had the understanding that rent is late after the 1st, but there is no late fee until the 5th (or whatever date the lease stipulates).

He even gave me a tour of the work he had done.