@Thomas Leeters and @Guillaume Elleboudt I've written an extensive article on how international investors can get exposure to US deals.

The fundamental problem in this scenario is that the PMs don't have any exposure.

Without knowing the whole development and what your exposure is it's hard to give a lot of info.I can tell you FOR SURE whether a corporate restaurant or not that rents do not stay flat for ten years.Even if a highly profitable corporate store rents increase at least 1 to 1.5% annually.If you have flat rents my clients will just buy a pharmacy with much more quality and security.Is this a ground lease, double net, triple net??

In retrospect it would have been a good time to jump into the market from an appreciation basis, but I owned my primary residence (bought in ’01) and so I had some exposure to a rising market.

Finally, I'm considering getting a real estate agent license simply to get my feet wet(ter), get more exposure to the business, and to potentially represent myself in purchases to save on the fee, or pass some of the commission onto sellers agents that may in turn be more motivated to bring me great properties.I'm JUST beginning to learn this stuff, so please point out anything that sounds crazy within the aforementioned :)Thanks a ton for the great information and especially inspiration.

You beat down markets by being in multiple markets, that is the way to keep your down market exposure to a small portion of you portfolio.

And I agree with everything you said Matthew, get insurance, know your business, use good management techniques and skills, also, know your area to understand your exposures, an attorney should know, so ask one.I've often said that you take on a greater risk driving your car than owning and renting a decent single family home, now, multi family is different due to the concentration of tenants.Don't be afraid to own property, it rarely bites compared to other risks we take daily without a second thought. 

The carriers vary their rates up and down to level out exposure to risk in different markets.

At the paid for meetings one of the more valuable exposures is networking, make sure you mingle and bring some business cards.

ALL investors need to have reserve capital so it is essential to maintain certain capital levels based on how much risk exposure you have.