Yes, you will likely pay close to or at retail value if you are buying a quality property that has been properly renovated. 

Your cavalier attitude about buying (especially retail condos) in SF or Bay Area, particularly in today's maxed out market, is usually not a great first investment for someone who isn't already wealthy.

If the property is in an LLC I look up that LLC in the Department of State website which has a service address.

Even at retail, if you're paying 500k, they're generating 50k to 60k a year in gross rents by year 2.

However I would ensure zoning aligns with the retail space in the area.

In Metro Detroit area, police will not remove these types of occupants (they are afraid of scamming landlord having police remove legal tenants), calling them a "civil matter" forcing landlord to start court eviction process.Here is some of the guidelines local police departments have put out regarding enforcement. • The requesting person is the property owner or authorized agent of the property owner. • The real property that is being occupied includes a residential dwelling.• An unauthorized person or persons have unlawfully entered and remain or continue to reside on the property owner's property.• The real property was not open to members of the public at the time the unauthorized person or persons entered. • The property owner has directed the unauthorized person to leave the property. • The unauthorized person or persons are not current or former tenants pursuant to a written or oral rental agreement authorized by the property owner. • The unauthorized person or persons are not immediate family members of the property owner. • There is no pending litigation related to the real property between the property owner and any known unauthorized person. 

In fact, a common colleague of Chris and mine worked with them for a few years but departed once he learned of the issues outlined above.   

Here are some other deals that other retailers are offering as a option to Prime Deals.

If paid by the lender (this is common for conventional financing, especially with retail lenders), the origination and/or underwriting fee is “baked” into the interest rate, therefore giving you a higher rate in exchange for lower out of pocket costs. 

Lord knows there are a lot of fancy, online GP's now with beautiful websites, YouTube channels, and 10 people in their investor relations department but only 1 inexperienced guy in their acquisitions who couldn't underwrite a lemonade stand.good luck :)