Try to make it as simple as reading a menu.

From there you can select from a drop down menu for Commercial Vacant Land or Residential Vacant Land.

I recognize your purchase timing was not optimal and in I had purchase 2007 I would not have the same type of gain.  

As you are testing, you optimize the campaign until it is profitable.

James Wise no we never opened it but we were gonna do a menu with everything under 500 calories using low fat sauces, low fat cheeses and high protein/low fat meats, etc. great idea but have no clue about the restaurant business think I will just stick to real estate!

.- Major Fast Food Sales - especially menu items: for example, are $1 menu items the dominating selling items- Pizza prices- Food Inflation - especially essentials- Transportation Inflation - such as gasoline prices and auto prices- What laws are in the pipeline to be passed - federal, state, and local- What are the viewpoints, sales, and employment habits of major local employers - historical information has a higher value than assumptionsWhat have I overlooked?

Then, once you gain skills necessary and understanding of how properties should be managed to optimize return, then you decide the best way to scale your business and reach your investment goals.

A day with excel forecasting, projecting, and running analysis to optimize a deal are my favorite days. 

I've got a potential opportunity to evaluate an off market deal to purchase a commercial retail property that has a restaurant tenant (focus on regional/national craft beers with tapas type food menu) in the CBD of a growing small city.  

Another option is to use a home style renovation loan which does accommodate primary residences 1-4 unit, second homes 1 unit only, and investment/non owner properties as well (1 unit only).The LTV's are similar to regular conventional financing from 75-95% LTV with the lower being investment and the higher being primary residences.The benefit is you can combine your purchase money loan and your rehab cost into one loan upon purchase and your rate is 5.00% or less as of current rates while with hard money you may be in the double digits with multiple points.The downside being that you may need more time to close, these renovation loans typically take 40-60 days to close.Your original question basically strikes at a balance of asset protection (LLC hysteria/hype) versus financing optimization (best rate/terms/etc).