Biggerpockets doesn't like me to post my personal blog about daily construction building a modular home because it takes you to my architecture website.

There are lots of degrees that can help you on your REI path such as accounting, construction management, architecture, etc.

I assume it is not going to be one large open space, so each living or bedroom space would need to meet this requirement based on the calculation provided.Based on the fact that you have 8' ceilings, and 2 exits, it should be in a pretty good position based on Architectural standards, all tho @John Warren brings up a good point regarding the additional extensive costs of adding windows in masonry buildings Vs. frame buildings, but if you have room to lower the sill instead of raising the top or widening the window, you will be able to save costs by reusing the existing lintels (Assuming they are in good shape) The only other concern would be the distance from the exterior face of the wall to your property line.

You can avoid Stamped Architectural drawings in many smaller towns, sometimes even hand-sketched plans drawn to scale is enough.

Brother is in a doctorate program for physical therapy, Uncle is part owner of an architecture/CaD business, Cousin has high paying career at Tyson Food, my wife and I earn quite a bit between our civilian careers and air national guard pay, and my friend/co-worker/current business partner has a great salary being in the military.

Brother is in a doctorate program for physical therapy, Uncle is part owner of an architecture/CaD business, Cousin has high paying career at Tyson Food, my wife and I earn quite a bit between our civilian careers and air national guard pay, and my friend/co-worker/current business partner has a great salary being in the military.

We live in Reseda in LA County and are finalizing architecture plans tomorrow. 

One caveat is that if you plan to Airbnb it, you could possibly get away with a themed home but likely not with a long-term renter.One thing that you could do to try and preserve some of the originality is to pick one or two architectural themes you want to accent or feature in specific areas. 

I have kept architecture relatively seperate from the real estate portion.

.#3 Contact Local Contractors for Labor PricingCall local Subcontractors and get budget pricing for common repairs on your typical rehab project.For example, call a roofer and ask what their average cost per Square of Architectural Asphalt Shingle Roofing would be on a 1,500 sf house, with a 6/12 pitch.Note: Some contractors will be reluctant to share pricing without seeing the property, but tell them you are just looking for a rough budget number you can use on future projects.#4 Compile Your Prices into a Spreadsheet or a DatabaseOnce you start to get a better understanding of Labor and Material costs you will want to store this data in the spreadsheet.The House Flipping Spreadsheet has a database of common repairs & budget prices to help you get started, but you really need to start building your own cost database based upon your specific projects, materials & contractors in Chicago.#5 Practice, Practice, PracticeWalkthrough potential rehab properties (or find properties virtually online) and practice creating detailed scopes of work, quantifying repairs and estimating rehab costs for the projects.#6 Complete Your First Rehab Project It sounds like you are already half way through your first rehab?