All Forum Posts by: Seth Borman

It's apparent that there are about three different things that we are talking about in this thread. I'm talking about making 600-800 SF 2/1 detached units where zoning allows. This can be done differently under different ordinances depending on where you are. In Port Townsend, WA someone just sold one of these units for $250,000 or so. They don't cost that to build. The trick is that you need a 13,000 SF lot for four units and lots come in increments of 6,000. A nice little trick that the anti development people came up with.

@Chris Martin that's not entirely true. Many cities make exceptions for developments of this type. But it all comes back to zoning. If your city doesn't have the ordinance than your going to have to get creative, like making condos or a "detached fourplex."

They are usually done as condos to work around zoning. Look at pocket neighborhoods and cottage courts. As a sale product they often punch far above their weight. Really high sales prices per foot.

Look up the Incremental Development Alliance and specifically John Anderson. A fourplex is a house so it can be bought on an FHA or VA loan. You might want to see about a lot split for duplexes as a fourplex will bust the cap on loans.

If I were you I would worry about it. That's not enough money to cover the potential disruption you could experience. I can't imagine it being legal to auto renew a lease like that. When I was in sales I had to get new POs because of changes in ownership.

You need an architect and a team of engineers for something like that.

Why do you want to rezone? Are you certain that you can't use the property as a residence in a commercial zone? Is it a legal non-conforming use?

Most developers have a background in construction (management or architecture) or a background in finance.

If you want to start small look up the incremental development alliance for a two day class.

RED is a hard industry to break in to because it is capital intensive but not labor intensive.

You need to find out if it is a legal non conforming property. That means was it legal when it was built. If it isn't legal you don't want it.

Create a financial model for each scenario to see which will get you the best return. Discount that to account for the amount of risk involved.