Increasing rent to market rates in Union City NJ

[Daniel Gonzalez]

Hi BP community, 

I am currently searching for my first investment property to househack, and something I have been noticing are below market rents. Most recently I saw a potential property that met my criteria but the current rents are extremely low for the area. For reference this property is located in Union City, NJ. My question is: is it possible to raise the rent up to market rates if a new tenant is placed, or does the unit need significant upgrades to justify such an increase?

I did look up the local laws on rent increases but did not find anything specifically stating that rent could not be increased to market rates if a new tenant is placed.  I ran my numebrs and the property will not work with such low rents. I'm assuming the reason rents are so low is because the current owner lives in the 4plex, my guess is the property may be owned free and clear, resulting in the owner not caring about the low rents. 

Thanks for the input,

Dan