St. Louis New Build 2-4 Unit House Hack

[Brad Annen]

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

[James York]

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.