Goodness knows I am well aware of some of my competitors and their less than savory tactics. 

I charge the lease up fee because it's common in my area, and if I raised the monthly fee to 10% instead, it would look like I charge more than my competitors do when people ask about the ongoing management fee.I don't charge any of the rest of the items you mentioned, though.  

Competitors are Doing it --> If you’re going to compete, you have to be where the action is.

One of the moderators here J Scott posted: you're essentially asking a stranger to: - Devote a significant amount of time to you - Train you to potentially become their competitor I don't know too many people who would do that for a perfect stranger for nothing in return.

This means they are less connected to your competitors. 

Many of us can attest to the fact that short sales usually have many competitors and dealing with the bank is no cake walk.

I also highly recommend installing a camera (I use Foscam PTZ's, which I can view via my iPhone)... place one outside your front door and you can have a set of ears and eyes at your property.There are options for management such as "Pillow" which I have not personally utilized since they're somewhat of a competitor of ours, but they may be available in your area, and handle most of the overhead including cleaning of the unit.3.)

Maybe even add a few photos of waiting lines at their competitors on a typical Friday night.

Online, you're going to get a better click-through-rate when your domain is sitting next to your competitors domain, and your domain clearly states what you do.Also when Google reps say "doing XYZ won't benefit your SEO", consider the source.

They should be happy to help you learn everything their is to know about your home policy as well as their competitors.