Rookie with a Dollar and a Dream

[Navi Veski]

Hello and welcome all of you to my first post. I'm working on gathering information in my quest to accomplish one of my dreams.

I have my eye on a piece of real estate that consists of two leased properties and a functional business operated by the current owner. The two leased properties are leased and stable (5 years/5 year option) and the business the owner is running is a cash cow with a steady stream of customers and room to be improved and grown.

My questions:

Assume a sale price of $500,000 and a monthly rental income of $1,700 from the two businesses along with gross sales of approximately $7,000/monthly from the existing business. the numbers are fractions of the actual price, rents, and sales.

I'd like to use as little of my own money as possible, earning equity by managing the rental properties and running the business.

Where would you start in trying to purchase this property?
What is the incentive for an investor to plunk down the down payment or buy the property outright?
Is a commercial loan feasible and what kind of rate could I expect?
Would I be better served to find 4 people willing to invest $25,000 rather than one person with $100,000?

All of your questions, thoughts and opinions, critical, encouraging, and otherwise, are welcome. Let's make this happen. And then make it happen again and again.

Regards
Vangelis