Help Understanding Cost of New Duplex/Triplex Build

[Nicole Katz]

Hi all. I am extremely new. I bought a home in South LA a few years ago with the intention of building more on the property. It is already zoned for multiple units. I am trying to figure out an average cost for a duplex behind the current house. That would be a new build from the ground up. Then I would like to renovate the front house and rent that out as well eventually. The costs per square foot seems to be so all over the place and nothing that is general to even get to a starting point. I see have seen 5 properties in the last year with in a couple blocks of my home, construct new triplexes so I know its lucrative. Is there any general cost per square foot I can gauge? Also, would it be prudent to build the duplex and renovate the current house or would it be more ideal to knock down the front house and do a complete new build for all three units? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!