I plan to talk to both of them in the morning to figure out which is the best option for me. 

It's hard for me to imagine suburban office / retail getting hit harder than it already has, and a small building for small companies in the services field feels interesting to me - right now that's a "Feel" and I have to wrap my head around whether data supports this hunch or not, but I do at the very least like the fact that office has been hit so hard, and seems to have no net new supply coming online. 

For me, a Heloc would be my choice over a loan.

Overall real estate investing has been a very good business for us in the form of cash flow and equity.

It just so happens that a situation came up with family to do a private loan that will work for me at this time so I've paused working with Sal at the moment. 

The primary form of diligence we see on the forums is "what do you think of XYZ sponsor and deal" whereas the common form of diligence in the space by institutional investors, large investment groups, family offices, and sophisticated investors involves following the sponsor for years, underwriting the deals, validating rent comps, background checks on the general partners, and a host of other diligence that materially de-risks the investments.  

A lot of us hit the forms just to help people.

So this is a new one for me...

Maybe every city is like that, but for me more than almost any other city I have been too I think you really have to know the area and have to know the tenant base. 

For me it’s been running toilets and the water/sewer line that ran underground (i recommend getting insurance for it).