If the borrowere is another week late, is it possible to gradually step up the late fee?

Rents will go up over time, your mortgage will gradually get lower, and the value of the home will gradually increase.

Enforcement of any rules/regulations across the country seem to be pretty weak but gradually getting better as tech improves and as more regulations get put into place. 

As I gradually make the jump from contractor to the developer/investor side I see the wealth of knowledge here being a great resource and look forward to growing together!

If i were you i would get an eviction attorney and remove yourself from this process. only thing that helps expedite this process is a great attorney and time. you have to accept the fact that youre going to be running a loss and that it may cost a couple grand in legal fees. other option is to raise amount you are offering the tenant. you didnt say how much you were offering but ive gone as high as 3-4k for them to surrender the keys. obviously you build up to those amounts gradually and dont just offer it to them off the bat. but if you are only offering 500 then yeah i can understand why they dont want to leave. long story short hire a good attorney and remove yourself from the process. less headaches

https://www.har.com/content/newsroom/Houston Real Estate Highlights in March:-Single-family home sales fell 18.3 percent year-over-year, as the market continues its gradual return to normalcy;-Compared to pre-pandemic 2019, single-family home sales rose 13.0 percent;-All but the sub-$100,000 housing segment experienced negative sales; -Days on Market (DOM) for single-family homes rose from 38 to 62 days;-Total property sales fell 20.9 percent with 9,589 units sold;-Total dollar volume dropped 20.2 percent to $3.7 billion;-The single-family median price dropped 3.0 percent to $325,000;-The single-family average price was statistically flat at $408,647; -Single-family home months of inventory registered a 2.7-months supply, up from 1.1 months a year earlier;-Townhome/condominium sales experienced their 10th straight monthly decline, falling 35.3 percent, with the median price up 4.0 percent to $223,500 and the average price up 6.0 percent to $270,294;-Compared to pre-pandemic 2019, townhome and condominium sales were unchanged.

The darkside of the MCC is there is a 9 year recapture which declines over time if you sell within the first 9 years, it drops gradually till it phases out completely at the end of year 9.

I might be not quite understanding the question - if I miss it, let me know.In terms of volume, there probably are more upper/lower duplexes than side by sides in total, but that gradually shifts - it's rare for an upper/lower duplex to be built nowadays.There is fierce competition for side by side duplexes which drives the prices up in the Green Bay (and surrounding ) markets - primarily caused by owner occupants. 

I started off living in the cheapest rooms in the properties to maximize my returns, but as my cashflow and net worth increased, I gradually moved up to occupying nicer spots in the properties.

Gradually get use to them.