In the book "How I turned $1,000 into $1 Million in Real Estate in my Spare Time", William Nickerson actually went around talking to his individual tenants telling them about his intention to improve the property and raise rents. Even if you don't to all of them you I think there are a couple of potential advantages to this.
1. Your tenants will probably tell you which improvements are important to them rather than having you guess what would be added value. For all you know they may just want a fresh coat of paint on the inside of their unit.
2. It would let your tenants know that there is a new owner (which they probably wouldn't know otherwise) and you would have an opportunity to make a good first impression as the owner fixing up the place instead of hoping they notice the improvements on their own.
3. You have an opportunity to create a win-win relationship with your tenants. By and large, most people understand that a nicer place to live commands a higher rent. In Podcast #26 Chris Clothier talks about having a win-win relationship with tenants and the benefits it brings (lower vacancy rates is one of the benefits). If your tenants get a chance to meet you and understand your plans it may make the idea of rent increases more palatable than just getting a letter in the mail from a faceless owner with rent increases every quarter/year and never knowing when the increases will end.
4. You would get a better sense of how well the tenants would absorb the increase and provide a better picture of how quickly to raise rents. Nickerson raised his rents all the way to market in one jump (although he let his tenants know well ahead of time).
Nickerson also points out that he doesn't like similar units to have different rents. Once the tenants talk to each other and realize they aren't paying the same rent it creates animosity. So he would explain to the low-paying tenants that their rent is clearly below market as evidenced by the other units.
Just some food for thought.
