I own and house hack a duplex that abuts a parking lot for a small strip of retail businesses.

Leaving you with a partially finished house not quite ready for a retail sale.Chat had a local REIA. 

Those price quotes will usually be 10-20% off the retail prices!

Currently, The average homes sell for about 2% below list price and go pending in around 29 days.Really nice homes can sell for about 3% above list price and go pending in around 9 daysTo get the best deal - buy off market not retail overpriced MLS properties listed by Realtors who receive their listings only because they gave the seller an overinflated, unrealistic price - These properties languish on the market and then get reduced to a price that's more in line with reality -and above all DO NOT use a Realtor !

Transfer it to your LLC, and whatever the just value of the property (usually about 20% below retail) becomes your new tax basis... so maybe $210,000 on the example above.  

When you start talking larger multi family properties and commercial buildings (office, retail, industrial) then cap rates become a much bigger factor. 

I am a modular retailer here in NC and I use them. 

The problem is you're combining a valid investing metric (loan pay down) with a bad investment (paying market value, limited appreciation prospects) and a cash-flow need (quitting the w-2).First, we never pay retail. 

Then several months ago, they come back with the exact same deal, saying that the developer is about to go retail at a much higher price.

If it were a product that had a price point available to non-institutional, retail investors or small businesses it could be interesting.