All Forum Posts by: Hannah Simpson

@Hannah Simpson

We have unfortunately seen a lot of projects take years, countless dollars, and never be completed here in Reno, NV.... 

Of course things are inherently different in Austin, but we have the utmost respect for successful developers. For just starting out, this is no small feat in my opinion. 

If you have people around you that you know well, trust, have done it in your area recently, and know the ins and outs, then this may make sense, but we have seen sooo much more success with renovating existing properties (especially with newer, smaller investors). 

Not necessarily trying to talk you out of it, but just wanted to put that out there. Would hate to see your excitement for REI dwindle quickly.

I wish you the best of luck, and for some more prospective, here in Reno we're hearing around $250 per sq ft! 

New build for under $150 per square foot would not include land - maybe you could get close if you are doing your own GC and hire sketchy trades and/or undocumented laborers. Why? Pre-covid you could get a tear off roof replacement for about $150 per square post covid they want $450 per square and they are booked out. You can find guys to do it for less than 450 but you'll wait for when they are available and you better hope no one falls off the roof. Roll that out across all the various trades and you'll understand why it's so expensive to build. The only things that seem comparable to pre-covid pricing is windows and the wood floor refinishing guys. All the suppliers have lost their dang minds. In the last 14 months the cost of Kerdi raw materials for waterproofing showers went up like 60% and that is after all the increases during covid.

Easiest to answer is check with the local insurance agent how much is the building cost in there at this time.

Honestly looking at $120/sqft I thought how come it is that cheap ?

Word of caution to a newb considering build to rents - beware of bad opportunities to purchase a cheap lot in a terrible neighborhood. Lots of people are drawn to cheap lots, but the surrounding neighborhoods are 99% of the time a very poor match for a new home. 

In other words - make sure the neighborhood is a good fit for a new house. Also, make sure the lot doesn't have costly defects you'll have to pay for to remedy. Good luck!

Welcome to the BP community! This site is an incredible platform that has numerous resources so definitely take advantage of it all. I'd love to get you started with your first rental property. I am also based in ATX.

Would love to connect.

Welcome to the BP community @Hannah Simpson ! Great that you joined the site!

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Best of luck on your REI journey.

Hi Hannah, welcome to the world of real estate investing! It's fantastic to hear about your ambitious plans, starting with your investment in Oklahoma! 

-Julio

Hey Hannah,

Congratulations on putting in that offer! There are a lot of local RE networking events here in Austin. I would be happy to introduce you to some.