My work experience is construction admin & oversight for land development projects (working with/managing contractors is a big part of my job), reviewing site plan applications for compliance with local and state code, and civil design (mainly stormwater).My question to you all; what kind of career can I transition to where I can use my engineering background to gain real estate experience while still working towards the PE exam? 

@Jordan Foster Target absentee owners (listsource) probate, code violations (courthouse) and from what I've read in several places bandit signs are still effective 

One is strictly about self storage. 

New to the site,  great zip code for investing!

My experience of that goes back to 20 or 25 years and it might be run a little differently now but you might get a sense of their strictness. 

Generally, attorneys will be more aware of the legal ways to protect you as LLC owner as well such as charging orders and the California Corporations Code and transferrability, etc. 

However, I’d be cautious about over extending yourself and relying strictly on the rent to cover your expenses.

To determine whether the property qualifies for protection under the “grandfather” provision would require more extensive research of the historical zoning maps and more information about the past use(s) of the property.It sounds like the particular lender you mentioned is going to require you to take some action with local government before they approve the loan (whether obtaining written confirmation that the property is grandfathered, confirmation of re-zoning, or perhaps even simply a letter from Knox County stating that they are not going to seek to strictly enforce zoning with respect to the property might suffice).

My business partner and I have a property under contract in the 60647 zip code in Chicago.

The owner posted a FSBO and i contacted him asking if he was willing to sell. i am completely unsure on how to run comps on this property. its strictly commercial, it used to be a barbershop. how would  i go about not losing this lead and making a solid but fair offer in which i can wholesale it and still allow the buyer to make a profit?