Thanks all for your input!
Not sure what the landscape is like, but this treehouse rental is very popular in Atlanta: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1415908
Yes!!! This is the kind of feedback I was looking for, unique ideas. That is so cool! Thank you. Maybe a yurt or a tiny house is the way to go... It's not quite treehouse cool, but it's different.
You can't get any sort of meaningful answer if you have done zero homework on what it would take to do this. In general new construction is too expensive to make SFHs worthwhile as rentals, but it could be that your area/situation is an exception.
A yurt. A tiny house. Or more conventionally, a cottage of sorts. Probably rent out....
This is a bit of thinking out loud/random daydreaming. I guess I don't have any specific questions, but any thoughts? Good/bad idea?
Thanks. I wasn't really looking for hard numbers as a "meaningful" answer, and was trying to think outside of the box. Just trying to get some ideas. I agree that a full-blown SFH wouldn't be a good idea. If I were to have a go at more conventional landlording, I'd just buy an existing property.
+1 on zoning. How big the plot has to be and what you are allowed to put on it are primary questions before you even look into whether it would be possible from a finance or construction standpoint.
It is zoned for residential or commercial use, so I expect it would have been approved for some type of structure. I think we would just pay cash for it? I know interest rates on land only, and non-primary personal residence, tend to be higher.
What is your twin house worth? Or if it's an unsubdivided duplex, what's the duplex worth? One possible reason the sellers are only asking $15k is the lot is not large enough to be buildable in the eyes of the city or county. It never hurts to call the number on the sign and ask what uses are allowed on the lot and if anyone has approached the city/county about building something there.
I've never bothered looking into the value of the house we rent in the 4 years we've been there. (I did state in my original post, but not sure if it was noted, that we are the renters, not the owners, of our residence.) It's a SFH that has been split into two rentals, an unsubdivided duplex, I guess. Our 3br/1.5 ba on one side, and I think a 2 br/1 ba on the other. It's zestimate is $230K. Our side rents for $1,200. From what I've seen, that is about $200 less than comparable properties rent for. (Our landlord has not raised our rent since 2011 when we moved. We are good tenants- always pay timely, rarely ask for anything, and take care of the place and resolve small maintenance problems well on our own. Pretty sure there is no mortgage on the place as they grew up in this house.)
Fortunately, you don't have to speculate on much. Research comparable rents, construction costs, debt service, area vacancy rates, utility costs, permitting costs, zoning, etc., run the numbers, add some margin for "shit happens," and you'll know whether it's a go or not.
Oh, definitely. I'm an accountant so I love to run numbers. Just thinking big picture stuff right now, not details quite yet...
