Both handymen work for co-op associations as porters.

If you cannot afford to buy today you might negotiate a ROFR in your lease where you have firsts rights to purchase if the owner every decides to sell the real estate.If you would own one space in a condo type for office or retail you have to be really careful with WHO is running the association because you will likely be a small percentage owner versus the overall spaces and have more limited control and input to what happens to the project as a whole.  

Though the contract says, "time is of the essence", there is no value in the contract associated with "time" that entitles me to a payment. 

But I would probably have a couple months worth of vacancy during that five years, plus utility costs, plus the risk of getting a bad tenant...When you consider the true cost of turning the unit over and the risks associated with removing a stable tenant, it may not be worth the effort. 

You should also join your local real estate investors association for local education and networking. 

One of the most popular groups, R.E.I.A (Real Estate Investor Association) has chapters in most major US cities.

What this does is it lets your credit report inherit all the GOOD things associated with that account.

Cooperative ("coop") or co-operative ("co-op"), an association of persons who cooperate for their mutual social, economic, and cultural benefitIn a recent conversation with the local housing authority director, they expressed their frustration with ALL local property management companies.

For example to become a licensed broker where I operate (Ohio) you need to go through government background checks, have worked in real estate as a sales agent under another broker for at least 2 years, have a college degree, have a physical store front with office hours, have done at least 40 transactions and much more that I can't think of off the top of my head right now.

As you explore these types of deals, part of your due diligence should be to research the local building departments to ensure the time and costs associated with re-zoning and re-entitiling the property are properly factored into your underwriting.