Developing one house at a time

General Real Estate Investing
1

Is there any money in buying a lot building a house and selling it? I know there are numbers involved but I mean typically, does it cost less to build a house than if you were to buy that same house already built?

2

I’m sure you already know that, in most markets, it costs less to build a house than it would cost to buy it already built…I mean, it’s a given that builders are in business to make a profit, right?

What you’re talking about it sometimes referred to as a spot-lot, which is a single lot that is available for construction for any number of reasons. You could also do a tear-down where the value of the property is really in the land as opposed to the (usually older) house.

This is a very special animal, however. There is a huge difference, IMHO, between being a rehabber or flipper or a wholesaler and being a builder. It’s an altogether different type of risk and requires a different set of skills.

I think I’m a semi-decent rehabber/retailer because I am good at finding deals and managing crews and working the numbers, but I would never in a million years think about building a house from scractch.

3

I always see those houses that say “on your lot for $***”.
The house can not be bought for the price the builder offers. I know that you spend alot more in the upgrades because the base price does not include siding or anything. I have to reasearch this but it seems like there could alot of money in this.

4

Unlike many other avenues of REI this path will require a lot more cash on hand to pull off and in most states to be a builder I think you’ll need a few licenses. If you’re looking to hire out the building rather than hiring people to work for your own construction company expect to make less money as the builder is marking up the labor costs.

5

I mean modulars like this:

http://www.pbsmodular.com/Prestige/plans/bradford3.htm

I was thinking of buying a piece of land adding a small lake, subdivide. The have a builder build one of these modulars. Sell it, then build a few more one at a time around the lake. This is all plans in the distant future of course.