Hi y'all - I don't post much but I am practically paralyzed on what direction to take at the moment. So hoping for some advice:
Some background:
My family owns a 4 acre parcel about 1.5 is usable due to well covenant and wetland. There is currently house on the property that was build in 1976 (and stayed in '76). Original plan was to subdivide, but we have a couple of neighbors that backed out of selling well rights, requirements with the city changed - and it is all making it financially not a great decision. We had renters in the house who have moved out and the place is in no condition to rent at the moment.
Laws in my city have significantly changed making it easier for me to build multiple units without any major frontage improvements (being a corner lot, there were a lot). I can build upto 4 units without going through the public notice, prelim plat, etc. that would be needed for a short plat. So I think this will get me some of my return back on the sunk cost pursuing a short plat.
With the space I have I am pretty certain I will at least build a triplex on the lot. My plan is to turn the property into condo association and sell off separately- the majority of the land will go with the existing house. The thing I can't work out is what to do with the existing house.
If I do the bare minimum (4 bd, 2.75 bath ~2,500 sq ft) - update all the bathrooms, kitchen appliances cabinets, repiping to pex, keep eletric at a minimum. I can probably get like $850k + some premium for the lot size, I'm thinking max $900k based on what I'm seeing with similar houses. Newer, more modern layouts around me (Mainvue) are going for $850-$1M on 6-7k lots. I am thinking I will need like $100-$125k investment for the remodel.
Tear down and rebuild - I don't don't know how big to go - average is around 2,500 - 3,500 for the recent builds around me, but houses on bigger lots down the street are 4,000+ going for $1.5M to 2M. The problem is in my city I don't think there are very many buyers past $1.5M, so I don't want to over build, but I also don't want to leave money on the table if I am missing something. I haven't gotten solid bids yet but im not looking to do anything custom. I want do something builder grade with some higher end touches, similar to MainVue homes around me. I am guessing this will put me around $250/sf ft. Or if I'm really optimistic maybe $200/sf ft - y'all can bring me back to reality.
Some mix of both - but I don't quite know if it will work or if I should even pursue this option. House is kind of a L/V shape - I was thinking of demolishing half and building up, adding an additional floor, updating the main layout to be more modern, raising the ceiling etc. This could potentially save on some review time with the City being that it will be viewed as a remodel but not sure if the foundation from 1976 will support any of this and if it will be any cheaper cost wise vs. building new. Who do I start with to even see if this is feasible.
What should I do with the existing house to maximize my profit? Acquisition cost and money spent on studies, reviews, etc. for previous project is about $550k.
Sorry for the long post - I know I am privileged to be in a position where I am still in the green, I am just consumed by this day and night and need to get some sense knocked into me.