Building A New House in Riverside next year (2020)

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I live in Riverside, CT (part of Greenwich) and own the house next door to me. It’s a rental, and my partner and I use it as an extra income. Next summer (2020), we plan on putting the property up for sale. The house itself is a tear-down, but it’s on waterfront property so the land is valuable (over $1 million). Ideally, we’d like to demolish the existing house and build a new house. We realize, especially being first-time builders, that this is a very large (and expensive) project to take on. Because of this, we’d probably hire a professional to help us manage the project and see it through.

We also realize that a recession seems inevitable, and need to take this into account. Luckily, we have a year to observe how the markets do, and thankfully live in an area that’s in demand. If we end up just deciding to list it “as is”, we want to find a buyer who is going to tear down the house and rebuild. Our property line (we live in the house next door) currently runs right through the existing house next door, and we’d like to keep it that way (minus the house...haha). Is it possible to advertise the property as “an opportunity to build a new waterfront home”?

Ultimately, we’d like to maximize our profit on this property in whichever way possible (with the least risk). Any advice or suggestions are much appreciated.