I am thinking at least a month as I should be able to fill my vacancy well before then and therefore keep the "Penalty" fee and increase my revenue if a tenant chooses to leave early.

Increase in rent each year what is the standard amount 2% I am the new landlord and my tenets are going into the second year 

In that case, look for flexible interim financing that will allow you to pay off without penalty and then rely on the increased value to lower your equity requirement when you refi.

Option 1:  Spend $50,000 on a conversion from a huge basement garage to a mother-in-law unit that would increase your rent by $500 per month on an existing rental.Option 2:  Spend $50,000 on a down payment on your next deal that should cashflow $200 per month after expenses, in addition to the loan paydown, appreciation, and tax benefits.

Perhaps the price of the property can be increased to cover the commission.

especially at the moment when you have a lot of vacancy (may increase further when you enforcing the rules short term). keep in mind vacant unit don't generate income and it's still a great return on investment (full year of rent vs what incentive you offer). that may keep him more motivated. also, I'd personally help with generating leads for new tenant and have manager mainly helping with onsite tasks (showing, move in, etc) for the short term. considering he's 70 years old as you mentioned, he probably are not as effective as using online tools for generating lead (FB marketplace, zillow rental manager, etc)Originally posted by @Cody Furman:Thank you, Bjorn. 

The steel tariffs have increased the price of appliances.

I’d like to ask for advice on how I should go about leveraging my units. 3 paid off. 1 23% equity and the home value increased 150k, and 1 home with 50% equity, home valuw increased 50k.Please feel free to send a message if you’d like to connect in general.

If it does have a correction in the next few years, then that money will accelerate my path to greater financial freedom or increased passive income.

As values increase, keep taking more HELOCs - which they can do until something in their lives hits the fan and the owner can't keep up with the payments.