It may depend on your jurisdiction and what you defined in the rental agreement.

Looking at several different metrics, the best route becomes much more clear when you’ve defined your current position.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the value of Scott’s interest in any of the LLC interests listed on Exhibit B increases as a result of his active efforts, the appreciation of such assets shall be deemed Marital Propertya) Active shall be defined as exclusively engaging in gainful self-employment working toward the growth of his LLC interests listed on Exhibit B, successor LLC’s, spinoff LLC’s, or any other LLC or gainful acquisition made using premarital funds, mortgages, or other financial instruments to fund growth.

...and how you define the details is by "Reverse Engineering".

Webster defines investing as "expending money with the expectation of achieving a profit".

be organized.Example:3 months goalEnroll in real estate class-network and meet at least 3 real estate related professionalsSave XXX dollars toward first purchaseWork on marketing strategy, and overall strategy (define markets, focus will be SFR, buy and hold with 150.00 cash flow etc) 6 month goal--pass real estate exam--Save xxx--Improve credit score from 675 to 745make these goals quantifiable and specific, in other words you can cross them off when you get them done.The plan won't be perfect buy it's a plan and you show you are executing on it. 

We have researched the permit situation in our city and there is not a defined process for this yet. 

That would give you an abandonment case which should give you control of the property if it is defined in your lease. 

So really the answer to your question is first to define a set of criteria.

Define your goals, aim to become an expert in your area, and more importantly define your "why"?