Best practices for SF renovation projects?

[Katrina Razavi]

Hi BP friends! Curious to hear if there are any tips or best practices for doing renovations particularly in SF given the many rules and requirements. I'm planning on turning an illegal in-law unit (currently far from code and a shoddy job) into a legal one. Would love any tips and/or referrals to reliable GC's, architects and such. I also have the option of using my cousin who's a GC in San Diego and was thinking there may be ways to save some money by using him as a GC and pairing him up with good subs + an architect from up here. Thoughts?