I focus on Columbus, Ohio, which has seen significant growth, especially with tech giants like Intel, Meta, Amazon, and Google setting up operations, driving up property prices and job opportunities.

That lower expense amount helps drive NOI, which in turn makes the building worth more.

But don't worry, in 15-20 years salary appreciation at a modest rate of 2-3% will give you an extra grand give or take while you get to look at all that property appreciation taking place as more $80K salaried workers like yourself who are told to "buy now" driving up prices from $600K to $700K to $800K, maybe even a million! 

You'd need to start working through a preliminary site-plan to validate your assumptions about the building area, parking ratio, drive-thrus etc.

You can potentially find some through industry awards in sectors that interest you, and also just from driving around and looking at listing signs, look for ones that aren't a major name, ie, JLL, CRBE, CASTO etc.

Over an hour drive is too far. 

Those three drive the proforma.

Now that I'm not the one handling the day-to-day management, I drive a nicer vehicle.

The Listing agent puts the property on the MLS and can get away with sitting around twirling their thumbs while buyers agents have a brunt of the work having to drive buyers around, orchestrate paperwork and inspection negotiate and so on. 

The lack of upkeep starts to show and you can tell just by driving by what's going on.