We were concerned about being able to sell it at retail with the defects.  

What logical reason would the retailer have to rent you their space to do the exact same thing they're doing? 

They want to be a smaller percentage of the investment, so you need to get the $ from somewhere and many start with retail investors.

But getting homes below retail is very hard.

The purchase is for a single tenant triple net retail space. 

I only know about the times where this was found out prior to closing, obviously I have no way to know about the times this shady behavior wasn't found out.Since you get a vote in who this tenant is, and it's retail, PSA that commercial lenders (especially the ones offering the best terms...) are starting to vet deals by how 'recession proof' the tenants are, even if they are currently paying on time.

There is a large retail scene in Columbus as well, with big retailers such as Bath & Body Works, Victoria's Secret and Big Lots all having headquarters in Columbus. 

Can you elaborate more on what you mean by "Commercial" - are you looking for a business-purpose loan on a residential investment property or are you looking at true commercial real estate (office, retail, etc)?

Looking to get into Retail Commercial investing. 

I was looking at retail properties.