I am specifically looking to invest in commercial strip centers, apartment buildings, medical buildings, or offices in general.      

I went to medical school there and know the area well.

There are a lot of DAV exemptions on record now. 

San Antonio is a prime area to invest, the medical and the tech industry is booming.

Pearland is closer to Texas Medical Center.  

The realtor said that the intention was be used as Medical.

This should be simple to look up with the county they will list all applicable taxes and all applicable exemptions along with their amounts. 

We'll cut to the chase, here's our dirt.The Facts: Ages 51/44, Married, w/10 yr. old childOne steady income 45KOne low income & fluctuating (self employed only 2 years but growing slowly)Living/ renting in NJ (Very expensive market, 2 family units sell over 500K)Fair amount of debt 37K (Car loan, 2 CC, Medical bills)Just getting by each monthCombined 401K's =  150KMy 401 (100K) can be transferred with no penalty to a self directed IRA (I had opened up last year in hopes of using some cash to invest in RE) We are determined to get into REI however we're probably going to need some creative ways to do it with our current situation.

I am thinking that it can be used by a small medical practice, veterinary, dental. etc. 

One tip is closely track your interactions with any potential investor, but in any circumstance when you enter into the syndication/private investor arena you need to be familiar with the rules so that you do not blow an exemption or break the law.