Happy to do a trade if local in Seattle or to pay a reasonable fee for architect/engineer.I hope to add value to this forum and community as soon as I am able to.

Here are the top 20 that my clients utilize.1031 Exchange and 721 Exchange - To help preserve wealthOpportunity Zone Fund - Allows you to defer, eliminate or reduce gainsTax Structure - To increase tax efficienciesBifurcated Depreciation - To help maximize investor tax efficienciesUpReit - A cashout strategyAcquiring Losses in Existing Real Estate Fund - Buying tax write-off for your investmentsSolar Tax Credits - Tax deduction for up to 26% of the cost of a solar energy systemNew Market Tax Credits - Tax credits for investing in qualified equity investments in designated Community Development Entities (CDEs)Design Tax Credits - Maximize architects and developers tax efficienciesEnergy Efficient Tax Credits - Properties that qualify as energy efficient could receive a tax credit of $2,000 per unit or dwellingCharitable Contributions - Tax deduction of up to 60% of your Adjusted Gross IncomeBrownfields Grant - Tax credit for the cost of eligible cleanup expenses in the year they are incurred.Historic Tax Credits - Rehabilitation tax credit for up to 20% of the cost of the rehabTIFS - Receive a refund for helping finance a development in a specific areaDispositions - Dispose of the abandoned or retired assets therefore reducing taxable incomeCell Tower Income - Negotiate in your contract for the carriers to pay the real estate taxes on the cell towerLoss Development Rights - Conservation easement resulting in a deduction of up to 50% of AGIAir Rights - Is considered a like-kind property thus the purchase or sale is considered a like-kind exchange for tax purposesProperty Tax Abatement - Reduce property taxes on new construction, major property improvements or rehabilitation of propertyFacade Easements - A conservation easement to preserve the character of a historic building and is treated as a charitable contribution What tax incentives/strategies do you or your company utilize?

Picture below shows a purposed ADU my architect drafted up.  

Should I be more patient with the architect?

Consult an architect and pay to have the plans drawn up and submitted to the City.

But there's also architect and often attorneys involved if working on the properties with the long list of city violations.

Retainage is a % of fee held until after job completion and owner/architect approval.

You don’t need a land planer or an architect to do this early stage analysis.There’s a lot for you to learn if this is your first time developing.

My architect has been cheap (<$2,500) but I get plans kicked back and my MEP plans run me about $5,000, less issues there.

Might be worth talking to an architect or engineer so you can get numbers more firm numbers to see if it would be worth exploring more.