This change alone stands to gain me ~$150k+ in equity due to the increase in NOI.My concern is that firing this PM may prove complicated due to his status as a tenant.

It seems like the highest they've been in recent memory is 8.5-9% back in early 2000s, generally have been floating in the 7's, and in super hot markets have gotten into the 5's.If I'm attempting to forecast my apartment building's value at sale in few years (3/5/10yrs), can I be reasonably confident that the cap rate will remain within +/- 1.0% in my local area?

Now I have the confidence I've been waiting for, I'm not making any money from this I did it as a favor but things I learned are worth more than money.

Is it better to do a small increase and increase my chances of them staying?

My biggest concern is that it needs a new kitchen in order for me to feel confident I could rent it for enough that we would have a positive cash flow.

Office space and housing  rents are increasing.

Your incentive for the deal is the value-add perspective (raising rents to market and Rehab to increase appraised value).  

They are also in higher rent areas, and very close to downtown - long story short, I feel confident about these properties renting easily and cash flowing well.My question is: how do you feel about the Royal Oak market in general?

If you haven't already, take a listen to the BP podcast - it was a huge part of my education as I started in REI and will give you so much confidence to tackle this new venture.

There really is not that much cost increase with that little of a jump in number of units.