I'm between miami and columbus for ground up development and new construction and licensed as a general contractor in ohio, licensed agent in both states. 

I'm between miami and columbus and I value engineer everything.

I have dallas investors who invest here because they can get urban core deals within 1 mile of downtown in adjacent neighborhoods and land is 50k for an infill lot here in columbus compared to idk what it is in dallas 

You are all set to begin your search.I work with a lot of out-of-state investors that like investing in Columbus because it is an investor-friendly state and properties have good cash flow and stronger appreciation.

it's crazy to tie up a million cash to build a duplex. you can leverage that and build so much more units. ohio is one of the cheapest markets in the country to build and I'd pass on this deal if it's a million which I'm assuming it is of cash, with that amount of money you could be the majority partner in a 50+ unit deal with non recourse debt on a HUD 221d4 loan and have more than 50% equity. super low risk, urban core, non suburban deal in Columbus Ohio.

I'd look at doing development deals as well. you can do joint venture, non recourse debt above 5 million in construction. we do deals in Columbus Ohio and miami florida if it is of any interest. columbus cost per door is much lower than in miami and we focus on micro units under 600 sq ft mostly for development to get higher density, higher lease prices per square foot, etc. there is a "affordable" housing deal that has 336 sq ft studios in columbus that gets about $995 in rent which is above $3. the normal single family rental gets in the $1.6 or so range even new construction 

you can challenge the value with an accountant, appraiser, etc most markets have a person who charges a flat fee to lower it. in Columbus Ohio most of the people that do this have a guarantee to lower it or it's like half the fee 

We build triplexes in columbus OH and contract with a lot of out of state parties.

If you're open to the idea of OOS investing, check out the Ohio markets (Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, ect.)

As an investor and agent here in Columbus Ohio, if you have any questions or want to connect, definitely reach out!