I have a commercial property in a Tier 4 TOC area in the Miracle Mile (Wilshire Blvd) that currently has retail on the ground floor and office above. 

The high end areas are killing it in the retail space, but it's tough for a buy and hold investor to find a deal with decent cash flow (though I did find one ;) ).  

This is not retail, its not a service business, its not manufacturing etc.

I have some experience in project management for a couple of smaller retail locations (one 3,500 sq ft and one 2,100 sq ft) which were complete renovations. 

Louis and am recently full time in real estate with wholesale, wholetail, rehab, and retail. 

A land flipper can buy cheap at 20-40% off of retail prices (usually direct mail offers), & then still list it below retail prices to move it fast.

Retail investments, ALFs, small apartment complexes, and planned communities are all on the horizon, but my focus will be on organizing tools to help real estate investors raise, organize, and optimize their capital formation process.  

To appreciate the 20% and refi as a conventional will take some time and there is costs in doing a refi. combine that with the fact that using VA essentially makes you buy retail, it's not as glamorous as one would hope.One actual advantage you can get is buying foreclosed properties from the VA. 

In your opinion, would you say that an investor should aim to buy below market value or can you still cash flow paying retail?

Due to the specialization of the plumbing and electrical, etc, I will have an above average outlay in cash compare to office/retail space.