Reno makes sense from a tax and insurance and economic growth perspective and also proximity to family but it's not a place I've fallen in love with despite spending two weeks there (one week last winter and one week more recently in the summer).

I have a 4/2 1550sqft rental (1945 build) that I’m considering selling to potentially build two 2/1 ~700-800sqft houses.

And I suspect there will be a ton of bidders when it starts that low.. wild to build a house like that with no garage. 

From your post you are seeking to essentially knock down the house and build brand new.

@Namal BurmanI recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation and tax planning.

Things have been slow trying to build my real estate portfolio through single family and small multi fam.

Having worked in and around real estate including loan side for both residential and smaller specialized commercial (medical), renovation and new construction/new build with a broker & brokerage founder (who has since retired) I know from him that in addition to reputable property managers, contractors and architects we had accountants including a forensic accountant on the loan side and a handful of real estate attorneys with one on retainer.

My idea was to build a single family ADU since I researched that the you need 1200 sqft of land per unit and the lot is .1 acre (4356sqft) so the lot can only allow one more unit. how much would it roughly cost to build a 2 or 3 bed adu?

If you need financial help, ask under the "Finance, Tax, and Legal" forum.

If you need financial help, ask under the "Finance, Tax, and Legal" forum.