Sometimes the market changes or can't absorb the rents that they want, so they issue concessions to make it appear as if it's performing as intended.

(Starbucks / yoga studio / craft brewery /boutique cookie,coffe or ice cream shop  are the easiest targets)-Activation of dormant retail sites-Increased foot traffic For B to AAbove also apply-Home valuations (are homes in the increasing at rates above nearby or similar neighborhoods)-Is it walkable or are projects in place to make it highly walkable for residents-Is it near highly desirable activity centers -is it unique (for example - Can it get historic designation)

I purchase the materials and have them delivered or deliver them to the job site.

According to their SEC filing of the $300 million in loan they made, $299,300,000 was NON PERFORMING.  

You will have to gather more accurate operating costs (vacancy loss, taxes, utilities, insurance, mgmt fees, maintenance, HOA) to best determine potential future performance.

If this fails, then perform a land trust strategy.

City-Data and Census.gov are solid resources, and sites like Rentometer can give you a good sense of rental prices.After that, I narrow it down to neighborhoods with strong fundamentals—good schools, low crime, and convenient amenities.

Most are performing well and a couple of them are in the middle of dealing with evictions. 

Not a book, but Bill Faeth has a lot of free, good content on his site and YouTube videos.

This is not yoursituation, but just to walk through the different thought processesin Holding/Selling that a friend of mine is going through.Helped my friend getinto the Self Storage business and walked him through the wholeprocess from evaluating the market, selecting a site, developing thesite, systems, financing, insurance, etc.