I am very happy to join the forum, I am from Toronto and looking forward to learn more about real estate investment and grow together with you guys :)I have a property in Toronto, given its zoning already allows for duplex, I am thinking about converting the existing property to a duplex. following is some basic info:2 story semi detach, location: close to middle town,purchase price: CAD 900000 lot size 21*100, 1500-2000 sqrt feet interior, 3 rooms on second floor, 6 feet high basement, 3 separate entries(front door, back door, basement), 1 detached garage in the yard but facing forward(not laneway), parking is in front of the housealready installed gas furnace,property was built in 1910sARV based on nearby duplex: 1.2m+there are several work involved in this project, including change service power to 200A, egress window for basement, open one window for main floor, separation wall to form two units, and create bathroom for main floor, separate meter if basement size is allowed.another thing I am undecided is whether it is worth to underpin the basement to at least 8.5 inch or not, giving the basement is very small (about 400 sqrt feet)I am only on the first stage of the project, where I just started to gather information and source for an architect and project construction team.

I am very happy to join the forum, I am from Toronto and looking forward to learn more about real estate investment and grow together with you guys :)I have a property in Toronto, given its zoning already allows for duplex, I am thinking about converting the existing property to a duplex. following is some basic info:2 story semi detach, location: close to middle town,purchase price: CAD 900000 lot size 21*100, 1500-2000 sqrt feet interior, 3 rooms on second floor, 6 feet high basement, 3 separate entries(front door, back door, basement), 1 detached garage in the yard but facing forward(not laneway), parking is in front of the housealready installed gas furnace,property was built in 1910sARV based on nearby duplex: 1.2m+there are several work involved in this project, including change service power to 200A, egress window for basement, open one window for main floor, separation wall to form two units, and create bathroom for main floor, separate meter if basement size is allowed.another thing I am undecided is whether it is worth to underpin the basement to at least 8.5 inch or not, giving the basement is very small (about 400 sqrt feet)I am only on the first stage of the project, where I just started to gather information and source for an architect and project construction team.

I am a 36 year old Architect from NYC working for a local firm on commercial interiors and small retail projects looking to get into real estate investing.

He actually wouldn't give me any number until his architect created a drawing, which was almost $1000.

First questions:  Does anyone have a good and reasonably priced architect to recommend?  

Do I start with an architect or designer to see if the specs are possible or walk through with an experienced contractor for some very rough numbers?

Perhaps you could have a landscape architect come by and do an inventory and analysis report. 

I’m in California I spoke with my architect he mentioned to me that I can slap 16 units on that parcel.New Construction costs $2,992,000Land $730,000Holding costs $370,000All in will be $4,092,00 Estimate Future appraised value $6,500,00 to $7,000,00I want to thank everyone in advance for the feedback

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Of course, you could also consult a real estate attorney and architect, and they should be able to help you out.