Currently I track rent and expenses in excel.

You made so many excellent points there.

Excellent location, but half of retail space has been vacant for years.

Thank you everyone for the excellent information.

I would suggest maybe asking for the highest allowable security deposit that your state allows, just as everything is new and should be in excellent repair still I'll include a link too that may be of some use- in conjunction with current Zillow, Realtor.com, etc. listings in your area https://www.rentometer.com/Hope that helps some

Our accounting system is an Excel spreadsheet, and we'd like to purchase accounting software. 

Househacking is an excellent way to start, but if you don't have enough money for a down payment the best thing in my opinion is education and networking.

Also, you want to guard against mold damage.I've used Belfor for the water damage in the past and they've done an excellent job.  

@Ryan Moyer, Excellent response, you have given me lots to think about!

Very task focused and require excellent training materials or one-on-one training as they memorize steps to get the job done instead trying to understand what they are doing.