If you're going to live there, shop around and pay someone to draw up a plan and shopping list but you still need to hire a crew of 3-4 laborers with shovels to help you.

I know in San Diego (I love California) the general rule of thumb is to plan to spend $100K before you put a shovel in the dirt.  

Great location ,good schools , and cheap shovel ready lots .

They own shovels or a mini ex 

I don't know how long you plan to rent it out, but when I was looking for property managers, one of them told me if you have a good reliable landscaper,  besides mowing, they can help you shovel snow in the winter, help picking up trash, and otherwise alert you to whats happening, especially if the place is vacant.

When I was a kid in the early 80's, I cut grass, shoveled driveways, did all sorts of yard work, washed and waxed cars and babysat all the time.

When I was a kid and it snowed and school was cancelled, I'd go out shoveling driveways all day and at $5 a driveway (this was 35 years ago!)

He slips falls, doing snow shoveling, breaks a hip, what ya gonna do.. he falls off a ladder, cracks his back... what ya gonna do.. 

The larger shopping centers can take many years from planning, to shovel,to completion so I tend to stay away from those unless the location is phenomenal.   

None of the homes in the area had the amenities that we were used to in Boston so we decided to bring some metropolitan flare to this small town, and it worked!