I don't know about Virginia law but in Colorado HOA's are able to enter and tow vehicles because the homeowner is only able to buy and own the "foot print" of the house.

If I move forward with the purchase of these 3 duplexes, will I be shooting myself in the foot with regards to "house-hacking" a 4-plex afterwards?

The numbers look good:Location: Broadway HouseNumber of Units: 1Rent: $1,350.00 Square Feet: 1,666 Upfront Costs:Cost per Unit $95,000.00 Price: $80,000.00 Cost per Square Foot: $57.02 Cap Improvements & Repairs: $15,000.00Cash on Cash Return:19.84%Total: $95,000.00 Debt Coverage: [minimum 1.6] 1.78 20%Down: $19,000.00Capitalization Rate (ROI)9.05%Current Assessed Value: $29,666.00 Loan Amount: $76,000.00 Net Cash Flow per month: $314.08 Interest: 4.88%Net Cash Flow per month per unit: $314.08 Term (yrs): 30Total Rent/Month: $1,350 GROSS SCHEDULED RENTAL INCOME: $16,200.00 Less: Total Annual Debt Service: $(4,826.40)Less: Operating Expenses: $(6,470.63)Less: Vacancy and Credit Losses (7%): $(1,134.00)NET CASH FLOW: 3,769 NET OPERATING INCOME - (NOI): 8,595 INTEREST: 3,680 DEPRECIATION: 3,455 NET INCOME: 1,461 Property Insurance: $1,000.00 Property Management (10%): $1,620.00 Placement Fee(30%): $405.00 Real Estate Taxes (5.06179%) $1,501.63 Repairs and Maintenance (12%) $1,944.00 Services: Snow Removal: 720 Utilities: Electricity: N/A Gas and Oil: N/A Sewer and Water: $30.00/mo Other

Everything is finally in order and now I want to run at least 1 campaign before the big day to get the ball rolling again and possibly knock down a couple nice deals to help foot the budget :-)Anyways to the topic at hand...We have always used Yellow Letters . com to handle our marketing and so far the response has been about 2-3% - majority seem to be "tire kickers," so we are considering a little different approach.  

Something that started with this a couple of years ago (my house on the right)Has turned into the removal of the fence separating the two properties (by the owner of the truck) which leaves me losing the foot of space between the privacy fence and the boundary fence.Mitigating circumstances - the guy that owns the truck has a history of violent crime (kidnapping, sexual assault on a child, assaulting a police officer, etc., etc.) and my interactions with him have resulted in schizophrenic ramblings (i.e. the Vatican owns my property, all financial transactions are routed through the city of London, etc.)I spoke with an attorney from this forum (a terrific help) earlier this week and I am weighing my options...the best being a 4 foot retaining wall along the property line with a 6 foot permitted fence to the front of the house. 

Also, what are the best ways to network and get my foot in the door? 

If the option only goes up a buck a foot then there is not much negotiating room to sweeten the pot.

One-time Expenses$1000 - Acquisition Costs (minor rehab, legal, & inspection)Annualized Expenses10% Gross Annual Rent - Vacancy Costs (turnover & lost rent)10% Gross Annual Rent - Property Mgmt (standard)$1176 - Repairs & CapEx ($1 per sq foot for tpical property)$1516.46 - Property Taxes (5 year historical average for typical property + 10%)$1000 - Property Insurance (a nice round number: seller reported that he paid $708/mo for one duplex)$27 - Water & Sewer (average across several properties from last month)$0 - Gas, Electric, HOA, Snow Removal (tenant pays or not applicable)$60 - Lawn Care (I made this number up)COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS:This is my analysis of the five properties that are being negotiated right now, listed from best to worst.Property Alpha (two-flat)$1250 - Income, Monthly (actual)$567.37 - Expenses, Monthly (estimated)$42,000 - Price, Signed Contract36% - Cap Rate (Annualized Income / Price)16.6% - ROI, After Tax (annually, assuming 15% income tax)6.0 Yrs - Until this property pays itself offProperty Bravo (two-flat)$1100 - Income, Monthly (actual)$537.37 - Expenses, Monthly (estimated)$42,500 - Price, Signed Contract31% - Cap Rate (Annualized Income / Price)13.1% - ROI, After Tax (annually, assuming 15% income tax)7.6 Yrs - Until this property pays itself offProperty Charlie (duplex)$1075 - Income, Monthly (actual)$532.37 - Expenses, Monthly (estimated)$55,000 - Price, Informal Discussion23% - Cap Rate (Annualized Income / Price)10.7% - ROI, After Tax (annually, assuming 15% income tax)10.3 Yrs - Until this property pays itself offProperty Delta (SFR)$875 - Income, Monthly (actual)$492.37 - Expenses, Monthly (estimated)$48,000 - Price, Informal Discussion22% - Cap Rate (Annualized Income / Price)8.8% - ROI, After Tax (annually, assuming 15% income tax)13.6 Yrs - Until this property pays itself offProperty Echo (SFR)$770 - Income, Monthly (actual)$471.37 - Expenses, Monthly (estimated)$62,500 - Price, Informal Discussion15% - Cap Rate (Annualized Income / Price)4.1% - ROI, After Tax (annually, assuming 15% income tax)24.4 Yrs - Until this property pays itself offNotice how the price keeps going up?

There are always other better deals out there that do not have landlords footing the bill.Keep looking ....

Hi Everyone, I am wondering if anyone can give me a rough estimate on how much it would cost per square foot to build a new house (land not included) in Durham North Carolina?