@Matthew Holderly did you find a suitable option?  

I knew going in that there would be several obstacles - but didn't realize the scope of them - I found it to be very educational and am still working on said project to try to see what the costs are actually going to be and if it is still worth it - it is a developer / contractor who is looking into it and I am helping him locate suitable properties and learning about the challenges of developing at the same time. 

I can go make $150 in 2-3 hours in my other business, so I'm not going to take a whole weekend to maybe find a suitable rental to make the same.

In addition, more investors are building ground up or expanding their facilities in those large MSA's further increasing the supply index into unsustainable ranges.Make sure the supply index is suitable (we like 3-5 NRSF/capita in the trade area) and that there is value add that can be performed.

I drive through the neighborhoods quite a bit and appear to see properties suitable for such development and could be useful for leads.

"What the house is worth" is subjective, even to the appraiser.What you can do:- Ask your buyer's agent to ask the listing agent if the owners/sellers wish to negotiate a suitable deal with you by X time or that you are cancelling your contract due to clause #.

Upon sale of a business, can the owners hold the original lease guarantor if a suitable transferee was found?

I guess it's up to the individual but that seems like a decent trade.Even if you cannot find a suitable replacement all you have at risk is the exchange fee. 

It was my original intention to try house hacking in the area through small multi family dwellings, but now I'm trying to learn about more methods that may be more suitable to this location.

Not sure which method would be suitable for a newbie.