I want to buy the next location so that I could grow my business plus begin to invest in real estate.

Must have been nice :P To qualify for the status there are two tests: 1. spend 750 hours in a real property trade or business, AND spend more then half your working time in it.

"Commercial uses" means any business, including a rental.

It has actually spurred a good bit of conversation from people that I work indirectly with, which is good for my RE business.

There was the leasing agent, planners, an interior design team to choose from the color palettes, others for security, construction inspectors, etc.

We are also seeing a steep rise YoY in bankruptcies across all chapters (both business and personal) which is another indicator of not only the direction of the housing market, but the general economy as well. 

Please don't be afraid of today's rates, if it's a good business decision today you would thank yourself later.

I bought the building that my C corp business rents with a LLC company I own.

As you have exterior and interior items where one could be ok and other not or both need work.

For Project Management, if you have Office365 Business it comes with Microsoft Planner which you can use for your FLIP and BRRR Projects.