Currently own a 1 acre land in the RDU area, NC (at the border of Chapel Hill/Durham, more specifically). Since the housing industry has terrible supply, it is hard to buy apartments in the area. I was wondering if anyone would be able to provide guidance on whether a 2 or 4 unit apartment complex is a feasible investment?
For my builder friends out there, I am also curious about cost per square feet. I am not looking to build anything fancy. Either 1 bedroom or studio apartments.
P.S: The lot is across from an apartment complex. I am currently working the zoning but I hope to not have any issues with it.
Developer · DC & NC · Member since 2019 · 113 posts · 95 votes
3y
Zoning and which side of the border will make a huge difference. Chapel Hill is notoriously difficult to build in, especially compared to Durham city. Getting a rezoning is expensive, time-consuming, and risky.
Though with that size of lot, it will likely be easier to subdivide into SFH parcels.
Hey Isla! I'm Shalamar Lawrence (PMP) if your still looking to determine the feasibility of a 2 to 4 family unit. I'd be willing to take a look at what your requirements are and crunch the numbers for you on a few options to give you an idea of what your benefits to costs ratio / ROI and IRR would be.
As far as working out zoning, clarification is needed as to what you mean there exactly? Is the property not zoned for residential? Also, please keep in mind that the current cost to build new construction residential is around 230-260/sqft.
example: $230/sqft×2500sft 2 family structure or 4 studios offering 625sqft/unit =$575,000
factor in an additional cost to provide adequate parking and accessibility to accommodate 4 tenants due to topography and building design and Voila!
If this sounds like something you'd like to move forward with. Please feel free to reach out
Developer · DC & NC · Member since 2019 · 113 posts · 95 votes
3y
Zoning and which side of the border will make a huge difference. Chapel Hill is notoriously difficult to build in, especially compared to Durham city. Getting a rezoning is expensive, time-consuming, and risky.
Though with that size of lot, it will likely be easier to subdivide into SFH parcels.