I wouldnt want the owner constantly looking at bookings and over my shoulder as I did my business, if i had a good track record.

I have 2 three unit buildings in Chicago and owner occupy one of those buildings.

3: I've pulled every record for both owners (husband and wife) at the recorders.

If you're going to a bank, you'll want to look for a smaller, community bank that has a history of lending on retail centers and multi-family...what they call "CRE" lending vs the owner-occupied "C&I" lending.

Found the owner and asked if they would like to sell.

I have many thousands of retail owners in my year database built up over a decade of time.

(https://dataispower.org/rockcastle-mega-site/)As an investor and owner myself, I understand the math needed to make a solid investment for your portfolio.If you have interest in these markets, lets connect!

You're going to need to pull local mechanics lien laws to determine whether a vendor needs a written contract with the owner in order to record a lien.

I'm a business owner with investments in retail, media, and addiction treatment facilities.

Cities usually don't care if the OWNER lives in the basement, just tenants.You could use the extra income to offset cost of finishing basement and more.