Arlington 22202 Opportunity

[Gwen Johnston]

My husband and I purchased a home in the 22202 zip code of Arlington, VA in June for $885,000. This property is special because it is one of the few remaining double lots in this district which is the location of the new Amazon HQ2 currently in development. While under contract our agent was approached by at least 3 offers to buy us out but we declined.

Our original plan was to take out a construction loan to build our dream home on the entire property (no subdivision). However, after being approached several times after closing by various investors and finally having a real great offer on the table we are now reconsidering.

We are currently exploring an offer from a new home construction company (who was also one of the companies that originally tried to buy us out of our contract) who offered 2 very appealing options.

1. Offer to purchase the entire home/land for $1,500,000 (we currently owe $765,000).

2. Offer to purchase half the lot for $800,000 and hope to be hired to build for us on the remaining lot of which we would remain in ownership and the construction cost would be less but it would no longer be our “dream home” but more likely a 5-10 year home we could then sell or rent out.

^With either option we have been advised we pay a capital gains tax. We see pros and cons to both options. We are trying to come up with some innovative counter proposal strategies such as asking for $800,000 for each lot but with the option to pay $200K now and $600K upon build completion...

Basically we are seeking ideas and advice! We are relatively but not completely new to real estate investment, we recognize this as an incredible opportunity and do not want to do anything too hastily but also want to jump on this and get the ball rolling. Any advice or feedback or questions to clarify would be much appreciated!