Increasing rents for my tenants

[Nicholas M.]

Im trying to increase the rents of the tenants living in my multi-family. The rents are $300 under market. I just bought my first multi-family and am new to real estate. I was wondering...how do I go about increasing the rent of one of my units? I live in one half. Do I just send them a text that we need to meet up so i can tell them rent is increasing? Do I make a new lease and then tell them they need to sign it? As experienced real estate investors whats the best route that I can go about this process in the most professional way??? i obviously wanna go to market rent but at the same time I have ZERO experience. Do I start out at $50 a month till market or what? 

-Thanks 

[Marian Smith]

Do you have a lease or are your tenants month to month? You typically cannot raise rent during a lease...month to month is basically short lease. You typically have to give notice in advance to the month to month tenants...typically 30 days. Check your state's laws. It would probably be more polite to 1) let the tenant know what rent you plan to charge and 2) get there gradually maybe an additional $50 a month until you hit your planned rate. Be prepared for some downtime...vacancies and make ready for the next tenants. Good luck.