The good part is it's in a desirable area that is close to downtown so it appeals to different professionals.

Retail properties can be very lucrative but you have to know what to watch out for.Warm belt states tend to have more expansive growth and if a space goes dark if under 10k sq ft in size there is generally a waiting list of tenants to go in in desirable areas if your location is good and rents are reasonable for the market.

I would say focus on on your desired cash-flow goal first. 

But, due to the volume I am working and a desire to have some work life balance I am now dropping a video every two weeks on Friday. 

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But i see management companies start making exceptions when units are less desirable or not updated.

The good news is that it ignited my desire to learn more and to actually take steps to develop a plan and DO something.

Properties within one mile of a station will be very desirable. 

While I admire your desire to be green, I always warn all my clients about the negative impact that solar panels can have on ones home values.  

The combination of the Fed's desire to stimulate lending via cheap money and the government's desire to stimulate the economy by running a huge deficit has made it a great time to be a bank: Banks can borrow from the government at artificially cheap rates and then lend the money back to the Federal government at higher rates, pocketing the difference.