The least states:"Tenant shall pay a "late charge" not in excess of five (5%) percent of the amount in arrears for each month the arrears remain unpaid if any Rent is paid more than ten (10) days after the due date thereof, to cover the extra expense involved in handling delinquent payments.

You can be told one thing & the PM can continue to cover it up without your knowledge.

I would be looking to use hard money to cover the costs of renovations.

., $700) to cover this, or are there other strategies for handling utilities in this situation?

Real numbers- purchase 907k,rehab , closing costs, soft costs, 840k, all in 1.747 mil, basis for each unit should be roughly 291kappraisal of each unit minimum 400k , so 2.4 mil if for all 6.I might refi only 4 out of 6, that will cover initial loan amount.

We had a discussion about the costs I have endured and the low ball offer to cover expenses for going 5 months past contract deadline but haven't heard back. 

Just make sure to adjust the rent enough to cover the average utility costs and include it clearly in the lease terms.

Because it is always changing, but not always warming.....gotta cover your bases y'know.... 

.)- All in Cost = Cost to build * Square foot  - Sales Price = All in Cost + (All in cost * 20%)* Covers contractor and soft cost on either fee based or cost+- Profit = (Sales price - (Sales Price * 7%))* - All in Cost   accounts for agent fees and closing cost- Initial List Price = Sales price + 10%      A buffer to test market absorption- Break Even being All in cost, point where everyone is paid except me. - List price is to test the market absorption at "x" price. 250k land + build.

@Chris Kay finding a quality, cost-effective contractor is extremely difficult:(There are thousands of contractors that are great talkers, but rarely perform within budget.Standard bait & switch is to lowball a bid, then once they get started all sorts of things "pop up" that somehow their bid didn't cover.