Depending on your region, and the cost of entry, $40k is plenty to get you off the ground on your first.

If your main priority right now is strong cash on cash return, one way investors achieve 15% returns is by identifying opportunities in once sleepy regions that are now becoming trendy, or quiet suburbs that have a sudden growth of employment. 

So its actually cheaper in a lot of regions to use CMU vs wood.

I’ll say in my region: the commercial retail market is taking a massive nose dive, that I can be certain of.

Regional trends are a good guideline to spot changes in the market.

Also, the PA Association of Realtors has a standard form for it, and that form includes phrasing that requires the seller to present the offer which triggered the escalation.its why I say that Real estate is SOOO regional you have some that get on here and have never heard of it yet they play in big markets and others that say its standard procedure.. and of course wholesalers I have not seen use it..  

@Jordan Sitzler Terms/names of your foundation are regional based on your location, but sounds like typical pier and beam to me.Level is out the window if you (or previous owners) have remodeled throughout the interior.  

With retail you have mom and pop, regional, and national tenants.Often mom and pop tenants can't afford attorney representation so try to do things on their own to negotiate a lease.Owners could try to write anything into a lease but doesn't not mean it is legal or enforceable.

What region of the country is it in?

If I develop a sales funnel that works incredibly well at pre-screening and qualifying only sales listing leads, would it make sense to focus on generating these leads (locally first but then maybe regionally) and passing them on to other agents to follow through and close, simply sharing the commission, agreeably, in exchange?