Has anyone ever built any duplexes from scratch?
I’m thinking…if I could purchase a piece of large MF-zoned property, and build say 5 affordably constructed yet nice, single story, 2-3BR duplexes all in the same location … you can (a) have the advantage of people - in particular families - staying longer due to the fact it’s more like living in a house vs living in an apartment, and (b) you can charge much higher rents since it’s nice, new construction and (c) everything will be concentrated into one central area, so management will be much easier. Note: this construction would take place in a nicer suburb…not in a poorer area of town.
Any opinions???
Thanks
How do duplexes do in the nicer suburbs around you? I’d be more inclined to go for townhouses rather than duplexes. Rows of duplexes would waste a lot of space and materials, who uses their side yard for anything? You’ll use a couple hundred squares of siding less, half of the exterior walls will be shared interior walls and still have more affordable housing than neighboring SFH’s.
Just my $.02 and worth every penny!
No matter what the question - when it comes to rentals, it all depends on the numbers. What is the cost and what are the rents? In my experience, people don’t stay long in multi-family housing - at least as compared to SFHs. “Nice” is not a word I use with rentals. What I care about is my profit. Instead of thinking like a homeowner, think about the numbers. Cash flow and Equity - that’s what I care about.
Mike
“Nice” apartments only seem to exist in urban settings (Manhattan, LA, etc).
Construction cost are pretty standard throughout the US. Your looking at $100-150 per sq ft if your hiring a local contractor to build them. So with the cost of land, think you can cashflow them?