Medium and large multifamily are valued by the income approach.

Hi Garrett,Just off the top of my head, here are some of the steps you might want to take.Seek a construction lender for the job as as well as a lender for when you are stabilized.Find out what the Lender Requirements are for YOU (and your Partners and Co-signers) and for the Project, and work to meet the requirements.Open your dialog with a Lender(s) early on, and keep an eye on interest rates if they flux up you may want to reconsider doing your build.Talk to an Architectural Firm (that has built recently in the area) apartments of the size and type you are wanting.Ask them for some rough (You Spend) figures with timelines on them and see if that matches your Vision for the project (be ready to take out your checkbook for this).If it's a GO, have them recommend a General Contractor for the job (that has built recently in the area) apartments of the size and type you are wanting.If there are tax incentives tied to the project for certain renter classes have your CPA figure that into your projections.Consider any "Dirtwork" (soil engineering for poor soil) or required "Drainage" costs on your chosen site (or shortlist of sites).If it's a GO, tie up legal control of your building site.Note: Big construction can Bite you in a Big way if you have little experience in it.

First and foremost, there is no one size fits all model.

Depending on the vintage, size, condition, etc you're going to be hard pressed to find something for $12k a unit.

Curious, what size MF property are you looking for?

Find similar sized homes, and calculate the price per sq ft of each.

Check with the planning department to get an idea of the review time. 150-180 $/sf seems low for "high end" on the west side of LA.Based on the size of the house you may not need an architectural stamp, even if you are adding a story.

They are easier, albiet hard, to find than a larger apartment complex in the area and will offer you a good introduction into property management before you bite off a big chunk.Like Matthew mentioned you can also do conventional or FHA financing on these size units.  

Sounds like a full gut rehab job or tear down and rebuild with that size budget. 

A medium large group gets the 5 bedroom which will leave the 2 bedroom ready to rent so that is OK.