New Construction - Duplex in Findlay, Ohio and Greater Columbus Area

Columbus, Ohio
Land & New Construction
2yFollow

New Construction - Duplex in Findlay, Ohio and Greater Columbus Area

Ryan Kahle
Member since 2024 · 1 post · 3 votes

Hello BiggerPockets community. My name is Ryan Kahle. I am 28 years old and currently live in Findlay, Ohio. I became interested in real estate investing starting in 2023, but was discouraged with high-valuations and what appeared to be a tight housing market in Findlay. Instead, a partner and I, who is a contractor, purchased (3) vacant lots in a fully-developed single family neighborhood on the southside of town. We are 1-month out from finishing our first duplex. It took us approximately 9-months to turn this around from design / permitting to construction complete.

After performing market research, I identified a lack of 3 bed 2 bath apartments in the market. The dwelling is 2522 sq. ft. total. Each unit comes equipped with 3 bed, 2 bath, attached 2 car garage, quartz countertops, advanced soundproofing, 2x6 exterior construction, premium vinyl siding / Provia stone masonry, 5/8" drywall, separate concrete driveways, LVP Durato flooring, and a fenced-in backyard for pets / family. All-in costs, including design, survey, permitting, construction loan interest, land, construction will be $360,000. We were fortunate enough to do some of the work ourselves. Our construction loan, however, will be $258,000. We figure this property could be sold for $450,000 in the open market. Rental demand has been strong with an asking of $1,700 per month per unit that does not include utilities. The City of Findlay also offers property tax incentives for developing vacant land. 

My questions are the following:

- At a minimum, we would like to have (3) new construction duplexes in Findlay. Do we continue to invest in the area by purchasing more vacant land?

- A market that has me very interested is the Dublin, New Albany, Hilliard areas outside of Columbus, Ohio. The duplex that we built could appraise for 1.5x to 2x in these areas. Are these areas of Columbus friendly for real estate investors? What about new construction? I assume these areas have strict zoning, permitting, and design codes, along with requiring state licensed contractors to perform electrical, plumbing, and HVAC which would increase costs. Is there land for sale or coming for sale in the greater Columbus area?


Interested to hear any feedback that you all may have to guide me in the right direction. Thank you for your time in advance. 

3Reply
82 views

Investor-friendly agents in Columbus, OH

See the agents BiggerPockets members work with in Columbus, OH.

Most Popular Reply

Jacob Sherman
12 Penns Trail Suite 138 Newtown, PA 18940 · Member since 2023 · 1k+ posts · 319 votes
2y

Feel free to reach out to me anytime in regards to ground up construction financing for first time investors 

1Reply
See this reply in the discussion

5 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Jacob Sherman
    12 Penns Trail Suite 138 Newtown, PA 18940 · Member since 2023 · 1k+ posts · 319 votes
    2y

    Feel free to reach out to me anytime in regards to ground up construction financing for first time investors 

    1Reply
  • Robert EllisBusiness Member
    Developer · Miami, FL · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    2y
    Quote from @Ryan Kahle:

    Hello BiggerPockets community. My name is Ryan Kahle. I am 28 years old and currently live in Findlay, Ohio. I became interested in real estate investing starting in 2023, but was discouraged with high-valuations and what appeared to be a tight housing market in Findlay. Instead, a partner and I, who is a contractor, purchased (3) vacant lots in a fully-developed single family neighborhood on the southside of town. We are 1-month out from finishing our first duplex. It took us approximately 9-months to turn this around from design / permitting to construction complete.

    After performing market research, I identified a lack of 3 bed 2 bath apartments in the market. The dwelling is 2522 sq. ft. total. Each unit comes equipped with 3 bed, 2 bath, attached 2 car garage, quartz countertops, advanced soundproofing, 2x6 exterior construction, premium vinyl siding / Provia stone masonry, 5/8" drywall, separate concrete driveways, LVP Durato flooring, and a fenced-in backyard for pets / family. All-in costs, including design, survey, permitting, construction loan interest, land, construction will be $360,000. We were fortunate enough to do some of the work ourselves. Our construction loan, however, will be $258,000. We figure this property could be sold for $450,000 in the open market. Rental demand has been strong with an asking of $1,700 per month per unit that does not include utilities. The City of Findlay also offers property tax incentives for developing vacant land. 

    My questions are the following:

    - At a minimum, we would like to have (3) new construction duplexes in Findlay. Do we continue to invest in the area by purchasing more vacant land?

    - A market that has me very interested is the Dublin, New Albany, Hilliard areas outside of Columbus, Ohio. The duplex that we built could appraise for 1.5x to 2x in these areas. Are these areas of Columbus friendly for real estate investors? What about new construction? I assume these areas have strict zoning, permitting, and design codes, along with requiring state licensed contractors to perform electrical, plumbing, and HVAC which would increase costs. Is there land for sale or coming for sale in the greater Columbus area?


    Interested to hear any feedback that you all may have to guide me in the right direction. Thank you for your time in advance. 


     we build a stacked triplex. get Rid of the garages, skip the suburban markets of columbus. adjacent downtown neighborhoods are selling for $320 per sq ft on average across 7 zip codes I just ran numbers in Powell you'll never get it approved for zoning maybe outside in delaware county but you are only building more rural. Powell sells at $242 a sq ft. skip findlay. there is only 7 zips I'd ever build in and they are all downtown or downtown adjacent. we stopped doing suburban to lower risk and increase density. increase to 3 units. I have a million classified posts showing the style we build. you'll never get the numbers at that rate. your numbers are way off and way too low. work with an experienced general contractor who knows this stuff. 

    [email protected]786-494-6766
    Section 8 Launch52 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Remington LymanBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    2y
    Quote from @Ryan Kahle:

    Hello BiggerPockets community. My name is Ryan Kahle. I am 28 years old and currently live in Findlay, Ohio. I became interested in real estate investing starting in 2023, but was discouraged with high-valuations and what appeared to be a tight housing market in Findlay. Instead, a partner and I, who is a contractor, purchased (3) vacant lots in a fully-developed single family neighborhood on the southside of town. We are 1-month out from finishing our first duplex. It took us approximately 9-months to turn this around from design / permitting to construction complete.

    After performing market research, I identified a lack of 3 bed 2 bath apartments in the market. The dwelling is 2522 sq. ft. total. Each unit comes equipped with 3 bed, 2 bath, attached 2 car garage, quartz countertops, advanced soundproofing, 2x6 exterior construction, premium vinyl siding / Provia stone masonry, 5/8" drywall, separate concrete driveways, LVP Durato flooring, and a fenced-in backyard for pets / family. All-in costs, including design, survey, permitting, construction loan interest, land, construction will be $360,000. We were fortunate enough to do some of the work ourselves. Our construction loan, however, will be $258,000. We figure this property could be sold for $450,000 in the open market. Rental demand has been strong with an asking of $1,700 per month per unit that does not include utilities. The City of Findlay also offers property tax incentives for developing vacant land. 

    My questions are the following:

    - At a minimum, we would like to have (3) new construction duplexes in Findlay. Do we continue to invest in the area by purchasing more vacant land?

    - A market that has me very interested is the Dublin, New Albany, Hilliard areas outside of Columbus, Ohio. The duplex that we built could appraise for 1.5x to 2x in these areas. Are these areas of Columbus friendly for real estate investors? What about new construction? I assume these areas have strict zoning, permitting, and design codes, along with requiring state licensed contractors to perform electrical, plumbing, and HVAC which would increase costs. Is there land for sale or coming for sale in the greater Columbus area?


    Interested to hear any feedback that you all may have to guide me in the right direction. Thank you for your time in advance. 


    Vacant lots are going to be difficult to find in those areas. Most developers purchase acres at a time and sub parcel them. I would recommend staying in Findlay, Ohio for a while as your cost of entry is going to be much lower and you are local to the area. Circle back to Columbus once you have more experience and capital. It is a more competitive market than Findlay

    [email protected]614-541-8475Podcast Guest on Show My Job Laid Me Off, So I Replaced My Salary with Rentals
    Reafco512 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Jonathan KlemmBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Contractor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    2y

    Hey @Ryan Kahle - You should connect with my friend @Michael K Gallagher who is one of the top investor friendly agents in Columbus.  No doubt, he can help you run the right comps and make sure this project is feasible.  

    If you were in Chicago I'd love to work with you on the general contractor side because it definitely seems like you have your research and scope dialed in.

    [email protected]
    Quality Builders4.968 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Robert EllisBusiness Member
    Developer · Miami, FL · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    2y
    Quote from @Remington Lyman:
    Quote from @Ryan Kahle:

    Hello BiggerPockets community. My name is Ryan Kahle. I am 28 years old and currently live in Findlay, Ohio. I became interested in real estate investing starting in 2023, but was discouraged with high-valuations and what appeared to be a tight housing market in Findlay. Instead, a partner and I, who is a contractor, purchased (3) vacant lots in a fully-developed single family neighborhood on the southside of town. We are 1-month out from finishing our first duplex. It took us approximately 9-months to turn this around from design / permitting to construction complete.

    After performing market research, I identified a lack of 3 bed 2 bath apartments in the market. The dwelling is 2522 sq. ft. total. Each unit comes equipped with 3 bed, 2 bath, attached 2 car garage, quartz countertops, advanced soundproofing, 2x6 exterior construction, premium vinyl siding / Provia stone masonry, 5/8" drywall, separate concrete driveways, LVP Durato flooring, and a fenced-in backyard for pets / family. All-in costs, including design, survey, permitting, construction loan interest, land, construction will be $360,000. We were fortunate enough to do some of the work ourselves. Our construction loan, however, will be $258,000. We figure this property could be sold for $450,000 in the open market. Rental demand has been strong with an asking of $1,700 per month per unit that does not include utilities. The City of Findlay also offers property tax incentives for developing vacant land. 

    My questions are the following:

    - At a minimum, we would like to have (3) new construction duplexes in Findlay. Do we continue to invest in the area by purchasing more vacant land?

    - A market that has me very interested is the Dublin, New Albany, Hilliard areas outside of Columbus, Ohio. The duplex that we built could appraise for 1.5x to 2x in these areas. Are these areas of Columbus friendly for real estate investors? What about new construction? I assume these areas have strict zoning, permitting, and design codes, along with requiring state licensed contractors to perform electrical, plumbing, and HVAC which would increase costs. Is there land for sale or coming for sale in the greater Columbus area?


    Interested to hear any feedback that you all may have to guide me in the right direction. Thank you for your time in advance. 


    Vacant lots are going to be difficult to find in those areas. Most developers purchase acres at a time and sub parcel them. I would recommend staying in Findlay, Ohio for a while as your cost of entry is going to be much lower and you are local to the area. Circle back to Columbus once you have more experience and capital. It is a more competitive market than Findlay


     just not for land, really not competitive. there's 25 plots of land within 2 miles of downtown columbus all under 75k right now. 

    [email protected]786-494-6766
    Section 8 Launch52 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free