Huge Single Family Conversion

[Stats Hogeland]

I am looking to invest in a few different communities in North Alabama, and came across a 5300+ sqft (7000+ sqft including garages) single-story single family home that has actively been on the market for 7 months. They've added a couple wings to the original house to get the square footage to where it is, and while much of the house is dated, it seems reasonably well-done. My guess as to why it hasn't sold is that it's in an area of town dominated by sub $60k - $80k small single families and small apartment complexes; anyone looking for a house that size would be want it in another neighborhood.

My first thought is that the different additions (including an existing MIL suite) would lend themselves naturally to being partitioned into 4 or potentially even 6 smaller units. The lot is already zoned for apartments, so there shouldn't be any issues there.

My question is... what should I be considering when estimating the cost of a project like this? This would be my first project of this scale, and while I do have quite a few contacts in the area (lived there ~20 years), I would be managing this remotely. What are potential pitfalls I should consider before digging into this?