Find out from the building permits who is building those units currently.

What kind of city permits... and are they expensive?

I pulled records and it appeared that although his permits and designs expired by the time he was listing property, zoning stayed as C-P permanently.

He subsequently hired a contractor, who got the appropriate permit(s), and started work on the house.

I would research the building code requirements and how demanding the inspections would be; how many permits were applied for in the last year; how would the project be marketed and the cost of materials for that area, the availability of mortgage money (construction and end loans) and last but not least the appraisals for the area.

Colleen F,He may be able to contribute to both an IRA and the 401k if his income level permits.

Once you reach 59 1/2 you might be able to move it all into an IRA if your company place permits it.

A pass through LLC may be able to manage or sub-let your property, some issues arise; 1. some states may require a management company to have a license, 2. legal suits, like evictions or small claims may require an attorney represent the LLC, 3. building permits need to be obtained by the owner unless obtained by a contract, so the LLC has operational limitations, 4. liability is limited, but this is over blown in closely held LLCs and running your books as the owner and the owner of the mgt company can have issues, greater care needs to be taken to keep things separate.

Im glad we don't have areas around me that you might need a carry permit. :)  

Very Cool Skinnie.Did you have any initial problems getting permits for something like that.