Quote from @John McPherson: Looking for tips on the best way to sell my Rented Homes in 1 transaction .

As long  the tenants pay the rent each month, increasing their rent will be very tough and getting them to leave will be extremely tough. 

I would advice being conservative running Birmingham rents due to DOM.

I understood that rent prices are decreasing.

Turning a dining room into a bedroom can be as cheap as $2K, add $600 in rent, and create a value of $75K.   

When the rent rates stabilize, I suspect they'll bring it back.I wouldn't try it in a location like Portland, but 99% of the country would be fine with a policy like this as long as it is disclosed and applied equally.

The Property Manager will take half the first months rent if not the whole first months rent.  

What location?

I'm from Leesburg, and I can tell you—multi-family is a solid choice (piggybacking the previous comments which I agree 💯), especially with that live-in/rent-out, house hack strategy.

There are no laws restricting mark-to-market rents.