Is this GC quote too good to be true?

[Philip McPherson]

So I am a prospective first time investor looking to own multi family rental units. I had only been considering house hacking and renovating older properties until I came across something this week that has me wondering if I should shift my focus. My realtor took me to see a rehabbed duplex that sits on a quite large parcel of land. The large empty space behind it has apparently been zoned for three more units. One of the crew members doing the renovations on the property said originally the owner wanted to build these three units but eventually decided to just sell the duplex instead when finished. Of course this piqued my interest and when asked what something like that would cost he told me about $50k a unit. This seemed so, so much lower than prices I've read online. I did get a business card from him for the company and when I emailed was told I could get three 850sq foot two bed one baths for $168k. Now this is just a shell (no flooring, fixtures etc) but still seems unbelievably low to me. Is this price plausible? could I make this happen while house hacking the duplex and eventually have a huge cash flow on this property in a couple years? Just seems way too good to be true. 

[Chris Seveney]

@Philip McPherson

1. Is he licensed?

2. Did you have plans provided to him to bid

3. Did you give a formal scope with the plans

This could just be foundation and framing with no exterior sheathing/roofing, doors windows etc

How do you define what he is doing.

Get drawings put a scope together and get several bids from licensed contractors