St. Louis New Build 2-4 Unit House Hack
I am seeing tons and tons of new SFH and MFH (2-4 unit) construction in the downtown St. Louis area (The Grove, Fox Park, Compton Heights, The Gate) and would like to connect with any parties experienced in this area. The more I look into it, the more I see people saying that the strategy is not viable, building costs are too expensive right now, "you'll be underwater before you start" etc. but with the volume of buildings popping up, this business model is clearly working for others.
I currently live in and own a duplex house hack and want to move on to the next project to realize the rent from both units. I love the new architectural style in the city and with most of the buildings pushing 100+ y/o, I like the idea of having minimal (ideally) CapEx for the first 5-10 years.
Any help, guidance, referrals, or insight will be greatly appreciated.
TIA
Examples: 2-Unit Construction, Single Family
@Brad Annen I’m not in your market, but I build all my rentals. I hear the same thing and hope people keep saying it doesn’t work. It’s great for me. I say all that with the caveat that you MUST control your costs. If you’re not familiar with the process and you just hire a builder you find, it’s likely not going to work out as well.
@James York Glad to hear it is working for you in your market. I am in the exploratory phase right now and my goal is to learn the process as fully as possible before making any moves. Did you have previous construction experience or learn by doing? It would be great to hear more about your process and how have worked to control costs, vet contractors etc.
Yes I had construction experience. I also found a licensed GC who was doing small scale projects that often drain time and don’t make a ton of money. It’s not his only job so we’ve created a system where he only builds for me and he makes enough money to allow him to do the other things he wants to do. In exchange, I’ve worked through some growing pains with him and I do much of the logistical and planning work that he isn’t as good at. Much of my time is spent budgeting and sourcing materials at reasonable costs.