I have the plans done but the city is telling me I need an engineer stamp.

At the very least you might lose your shirt, at the very worst you might find yourself dealing with gang issues in an attempt to turn around a partially occupied apartment complex from a thousand miles away.

@Suvir Salins    exercise caution just become these homes are the price of stamp duty in your country does not make them good investments.I used to post of the property investors forum in your country.. and I met the Dingo there 6 years ago. he has done a nice job ... be very very careful.. 

Working class people in C class housing who are laid off during an economic downturn will get by on unemployment and SNAP (food stamps) because those things will cover much of what their income was when working.

We also count "income equivalents" such as food stamps and utility subsidies during the qualification process.  

It's the quickest way to lose your shirt. 

If it is Currently zoned/allowed for 3 units…you need permits which means you need certified/stamped plans for whatever you want to do. 

That said, I also don't want to lose my shirt on this deal. 

From experience, if laundry included in the rent you will have people doing a full load for with just one T-shirt in the wash, leaving their laundry in the wash machine for hours and your water and electricity bill will most likely go through the roof (I learn't that the hard way). 

If it's going on a foundation, I would expect most jurisdictions to require stamped plans.