Did the proof of funds look like this:http://activerain.trulia.com/blogsview/3706285/high-end-property-scam-with-chinese-buyerI had some guy going by Marcus Irman Lee from Toronto with some BS story about a sick kid in Hong Kong and how he wanted to make an offer on a house, but couldn't get to a bank because of his location.

The strip center will be a mix of national to regional tenants. 

Plenty of Toronto residents own property in the Carolinas (like Myrtle Beach) so you should be able to find local contacts to discuss the 'how to' invest in the US....

I'm Ahmad Austin, I was previously a northeast regional truck driver for the past 2 years but I became annoyed with it and decided to take control of my life and finances.

In Canada, we're seeing the same effect in Toronto and Vancouver, and to a lesser extent in Calgary.

Two of the national lenders are NASB and First Western Federal Savings there are also some regional banks as well as private lenders in the IRA lending arena.Be aware that using loans in an IRA will incur UDFI tax (Unrelated Debt Financed Income), which entails filing a form 990-T for the IRA.401(k)s are not subject to UDFI.

Credit Unions and Regional Banks is the place to start.

As to closing and title costs, each area handles those things differently, I'm not sure what is customary in your region.

One other rationale thought on that would be that the loan for a new primary residence actually isn't that much smaller since the part you're living in now is only 1/3 of the 200K house.I think it would be worth your while to also check with a local/regional bank.  

In fact, Clear Capital predicts that the Midwest will be the fastest appreciating region in the U.S. in 2015.