Make cosmetic updates if needed, offer free months rent on a longer lease, make sure your units have qualities like laundry and AC. 

Most folks are charging 10% of the rental rate for monthly PM fees. 1 months rent for a leasing fee and couple hundred for a lease renewal.

Do negotiation with the tenantIf it is item 2, what are the do’s and don’ts

When's the lease up?

It’s hit and miss, really need to deeply understand what they offer, if they will work for you or against you, whether they sign the lease or you (I prefer me, to reduce that lock jn). 

I wish i could had my other deals like that.Today my portfolio is:- T2 apartment mortgage free- T1 apartment with 60% LTV mortgage (variable rate with UCI)- T3 apartment with 60% LTV mortgage (the one described above)- 2 stores leasing from CGD That's very good.

But I want to understand:How quickly do rental units typically get leased?

I am not sure how much you get involved but do your employees contact the realtor and discuss market rents, do the math to check leases versus market rents and which lenders use the "lesser of the two".Closing in an LLC versus personal name can also add a rate hit as well as Escrow or No escrow.

Common fees will include a set-up fee, a leasing fee for each turnover or a lease renewal fee, marking up maintenance, retaining late fees, and more.

If he opts for a townhouse, a low HOA fee will help his buying power It gets tricky using lease agreement income when purchasing a house so I do not think that idea will work.