or is that too cheap?

-Move money to stocks - relatively cheap now-Financing balloon (they either need a new loan or have to sell - and a new loan may not be practical)-Upgrade - perhaps they've gained some equity recently and they want to redeploy that capital to a larger building and take advantage of the economies of scale

If you're going to look into Cleveland, you'll want to read The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods.While it's true you can make a ton of money in Cleveland (I've done it) you can also lose your shirt (I've done that too, literally) Cleveland can be a mine field, so make sure you understand what's what before you buy a cheap house off of Zillow or something like that.

@Nate Wiger When we purchased, it was during the pandemic, so rates were dirt cheap.

I have a big chunk of cash saved that I need to put to use, but I'm having trouble determining the value of a new build vs a more traditional deal just buying a rental and rehabbing.I've been presented with an opportunity from a builder to build a new duplex in an area which can be used as short-term or long-term rentals in Knoxville, TN.The builder is a rare combination of fast, cheap, AND quality, and has written a "cost-not-to-exceed" clause into the building, so it's an extremely competitive build cost (details below).The deal would cash flow very nicely, but it would force me to leave a chunk of cash into the property.Here are the numbers:duplex: each unit 2:2, 900 sq ftTotal cost of land, 1.2 acres (This is already leveled, excavated, and prepped for building): $80kMaximum build cost: $252kTotal cost: $332kCash in: $67,000ARV: $350kApprox cash flow: $800-1,100So, again, how does this compare to a typical buy/rehab?

On the other hand, if you are not fully committed and you treat this like a hobby, everything you do will be shortsighted, or you'll try to cheap out on everything.

A year ago, interest rates were super cheap, demand was super high, and even still, prices were getting too high for numbers to work well. 

A plumber wanted somewhere between 4k and 5k for the job.Now, it could be something as simple as a leaky gas pet **** by the stove, the older ones dry out and develop leaks, a super cheap fix and maybe the guy that said it's the stove is in the wrong. 

I would also say don’t be cheap on the rehab, a good rehab will avoid tenant calls on fixes/repairs, you’ll get a better ARV and better quality tenants.  

Best CPA's are not cheap and recommended by other investors.