Thoughts on ADU Construction in St Pete

[Christopher Allen]

Hi all. I'm planning on moving to St Pete Florida within the next 6 months and looking for any advice on building an ADU on a SFH. For context, Im coming from the northeast and have a couple of rental properties up here. We have a decent amount of small multifamily properties available in my current market and I noticed there are not many at all in St Pete.

My goal is to move to Florida, buy a fixer upper property, put in sweat equity to force appreciation, then move to the next one after a year and rent it out (Im looking to grow my portfolio). However, Im running some numbers and it still looks very tight (if at all) to cashflow from a single unit. I've been reading up on garage conversion ADUs and thinking that might be a good way to cashflow after everything is stabilized. It seems the city of St Pete has relaxed ADU permitting / zoning recently as they are trying to increase supply.

Im wondering if anyone had a similar experience or can share any recommendations or advice on building an ADU? Or any other advice looking for cashflow in that area. Thanks!