The Architect we spoke to quoted us at $18K to get a certificate of occupancy fir the whole process up to the renovation being over with.The mortgage were getting is an overestimation ($160K), so about $700 a month over 30 years.

They may even require your engineering and architect drawings before closing on a project of that size.

Is that the same architect from XYZ Main street?

I'm unlicensed architect, I sold a duplex with entitlements for a lot split and infill single-family.

@Ben C. that all depends on the project, the architect and you.

There is an architect that we know quite well who uses a local payroll service, which I am currently looking into.

The development process starts with site selection appropriate for the number of units you would like to build, then you hire a civil engineer to do surveys, site planning, soils and environmental in order to begin the entitlement process, then you get an architect to design the product, then you get bids from multiple contractors.

My husband is an architect and we have the plans to turn the staircase to make the layout much more efficient.

Should I sit with an architect to start the design process then find tenants? 

Maybe it's the architect in me, But when I think of quality of life I think of everything I need for my survival within a reasonable proximity to where I live.