Been an owner for 4-5 years, learned quite a few things already, among which is that a commercial kitchen is not something to be made or modified lightly - it has to be properly designed and properly made in order to function well.So I have this retail store of about 1100 sqft that someone wants to take for a small coffee shop with the ability to bake.My question is where do I start searching for someone to design/compute small walk-in cooler, grease trap, vent-a-hood, stove and HVAC on top of that so all this could become useable without anyone getting burned.From my past experience I have local mexican crews who can do any and all of the listed things and they'd do them relatively well except they won;t ever be designed to actually work well together.On the other end of the spectrum I've worked with american general contractors and they tend to cost 2-3 times the Mexican crews and, at least in my case, ended up delivering about same end result (in all fairness it was only kitchen remodeling, not design from ground up; but statement stands valid and I was able to later do almost the same at literally third of the cost).Your expertise is appreciated.

I heard about Leaf Filter which is supposed to protect your gutter from falling tree debris. 

It feels very late cycle to me & many others watching the prices being paid today with little downside protection from recession or worse!

Keep it separate from personal expenses to maintain the veil and the liability protections. 

@Dan DeppenThe reasoning for the heavy handed regulation of consumer products and services is that consumers are not on equal footing with businesses as to experience, knowledge and expertise, may not have access to legal advice, are unsophisticated, and therefore in need of governmental consumer protection.

(It will sell, for sure, if priced correctly.)Of  course I would be doing everything legally to protect my license, etc. 

For a newbie is it safer to deal with a cash offer on the first property, seems to be a bit of downside protection to not having loan payments at the start.

@Tim Hansen,I don't know anyone in Charleston, however when it comes to tax experts specializing in property investing, knowledge, expertise and service of a professional is much more important than location.

Following people whose posts you like, particularly if you are interested in their thoughts on their areas of expertise, can be a great strategy.

I think basically the deal with ABQ is that there is very little growth and very little new inventory coming online, which means on the one hand you are protected from rising vacancy but on the other investment RE is expensive for what it is, as no new inventory comes online to push down prices.