I am an architect, so new-builds would also be an option (although I would need to reach out for other financing options as I could not afford to do that on my own). 

I'm a 34 yr old architect and I have two 2-family houses (one I live in and one in Newark) and I'm looking to get into a more serious real estate investing journey.  

I just determined that my architect delivered plans/renderings that are not accurate.

I'd start by talking to a decent architect that knows SJ's city processes well.

We had a very productive meeting on Friday and have decided to move fast on this project:Some highlights of the discussion at this meeting which was also attended by our contractor Frank and Jeaun Walters who will be helping us with the funding.We will not be splitting the lot and the project will be the entire 5 acres of land.We will hire an architect to redo the layout and make it a true 4 bedroom house.We will also redesign the front of the house.We will also hire a lawyer to speak directly with the bank's lawyer to get the negotiations moving fast.The cost of this project will be about $600,000We will need to raise 15% or about $90,000, rest will be financed.We will get a rendering done of the finished house and put a giant board outside the property and start marketing the property as soon as we acquire the title.The construction will take about 120 days.The final product will have a "farm look" which is the latest trend in Central Ohio.We will need to replace the old siding.Build porches to enter the building.Construct an entrance feature off the main road.Install a 1,000 Ft driveway.The minimum sale price is expected to be $829,500 and the highest could be $1,009,000.

We had an architect come through who wrote up all the plans, who then submitted the plans and permits to the city, who then approved everything. 

A 4"x6" is not as structurally sound as a 4"x8", but this is something that is well worth having a structural engineer or architect review.

Do I run them down or get them "emotionally invested" by frequently seeing the place, meeting with architects, etc, prior to submitting an offer?

Areas where they are building awesome mid-rise multifamily all over, and yet have NOTHING. these are the urban areas im targeting for ground up or warehouse conversion projects.I have a self storage specialized architect I work with, and we are looking at self storage with apartments or hotel wrapping it, since the huge costs of Urban SS is you have to make it look like a HIP office building pretty much to get government approval.Shared elevators etc, with separate doors to go to Storage and Units, even a perk for Apartment Units to have storage that close.The good thing about SS is that its mostly mom-n-pop owners, they own 1 or 2. they self manage, and usually not well.Bring in Extra Space or Cubesmart as a 3rd party manager, and usually you can boost rental revenue up like 15% very quickly.

Re: finding costs: I had discussions with prominent architects in my area when I was evaluating an apartment complex redevelopment.