We must manage Tenants, Contractors, Architects, Engineers, Vendors & Suppliers and even to a certain degree Property Owners... at least to help them maintain realistic expectations in full view of ever changing market conditions.We charge a % of rental income that is competitive in our area and we do charge a nominal Leasing Fee that is a flat charge but works out to be approx. 1/4 - 1/3 of typical first months rent in our area. 

@Alex Deacon, Thanks so much for the light but again I do need to understand the rudiments of the industry as am an Architect but do not understand the business of the profession which is real estate.

Solution=find a experienced residential architect who isnt working a whole bunch right now.

Further, properties in VA do not trade on a price per sq foot basisI like the Charleston SC  MLS  in bold letters at the bottom of the listings it says.. " IF SIZE MATTERS MEASURE" We just sold a new build that my architect put 2010 sq ft which my wife relied on.. since it had not been assessed yet it just shows vacant lot on tax records.. appraiser came in at 1825  sq ft.. same thing they wanted to know what we would do about it..

If you don't want to spend the extra cash to add a half bath downstairs you can draft the blueprints (suggested only, unless your a legit architect) and show them the houses un-tapped potential.

There was also a jackhole contractor a the beginning of this project (who I referenced in a previous post on another project) who wasted a little time, and an architect who didn't seem to understand time is of the essence.

It has a lot of information on selecting architects, engineers, and contractors.I've only just started reading For Dummies books, but my experience with them so far has been great.

Having a consistent banking partner I believe it's crucial to any successful real estate investors that you have excellent partners, that includes banks,architects, attorneys, mortgage brokers and contractors etc.

If it is in good condition (talk to your architect and engineer) then use it.  

My question to this community of professionals is this: Is there a value for designers/architects in the real estate/property development arena?