I always check previous landlord and rental references, and call the HUD office for a character reference as well.

The qualifying attributes are consistently: quick close, no tax return, limited documentation….

A small rise directly attributable if this amount of credit comes to fruition is likely.

They are not generally near a retail center-point so I'd be curious who a potential solid backfill would be, especially to your point, given the size and physical attributes of buildings themselves.

It takes great character to sit on cash.2.

If debt-financed real estate is acquired via an IRA, any income attributable to such investment will generally be subject to unrelated debt finance income tax.5.

I can't tell you how many properties have units easily convertible from 1 bedroom to 2 bedroom units, units with favorable dimensional standards which can boost rents with no photos to showcase these attributes, assessment square footage that is not correct,  upgrades not identified in the marketing materials etc.

In terms of his investments, they have been focused on the downtown region, buying up older, but loaded with potential and character, downtown buildings. 

You may want to consider asset protection for the consulting business and/or real estate by holding in appropriate entities, especially depending on how risky the consulting is and how many assets are attributed to that business. 

Historically those are the attributes that drive value.