Good Deal or Not, Does sq foot price matter?

[Sergio Cesario]

looking at a Duplex in Fort Lauderdale, Florida one side total square footage is 1355 one side is a 2/1 and the other is a 1/1. it is located in an opportunity zone and it sits on a double lot(13495 sq ft). zoned for 6+ townhomes on it(will verify with city). property is listed for $329,000 but when doing my comps Price per sq ft seems to be at $243. other properties are selling and closing right around $155 pr sq on average. Similar properties in the area with same square footage and similar styles have sold in the range of $255-$275. anybody have thoughts on whether I should take into accountability the double lot and potential for development? does the sq ft price matter that much when putting together a bid? 

[Kevin Zimmer]

What are you trying to do with the property? We all know there are 4 ways to make money on your real estate…appreciation, depreciation, amortization and cash flow. Everyone knows cash flow, and I would normally not recommend purchasing a property if it does not currently cf. But you said it’s a duplex. Are you planning to live on one side? If so the rental from the other side contributes to your mortgage, thus paying down your loan. Are you looking to create appreciation by subdividing? You said you are going to check with the city…make sure you do, confirming zoning and minimum lot size and setbacks. Don’t take the listing realtors word for it. Would you be the developer or would you be selling it to someone else for development. If selling to someone else, what do those type of parcels sell for? All things being equal (and they never really are) the price per sf is an indicator. But you also need to make sure the sf being considered in the comparison is consistent.