You don't want a water leak leading to mold growth.....

There are proposals in US Congress to eliminate the IRS Section 1031 Tax Free Exchanges, which have been in the tax cade since 1924.http://www.realtor.org/news-releases/2015/07/nar-survey-finds-like-kind-exchanges-promote-job-economic-growth

But shunning a person for having a home office or not already having 100 deals under their belt both stifens growth, and keeps people who could be game changers out of the game all together.  

It's slower growth but when all your friends are filing bankruptcy in about 12 years at the next cycle turn, you will weather the storm. 

Despite the success we are having, retail is a tough space and double digit growth rates are very hard to come by these days.

However, I am concerned that the arrangement is stifling my personal growth and money making ability.  

This might make it more of a buy.I tend to look at a property a little differently:  area economics, area growth, jobs, etc. 1stthen I look at the actual cost of the places and average rents for the area I want to buy.Again, my .02Good Luck

The idea is that you want to use the cash to grow the business faster.

In retrospect, my financial situation starting out had no real bearing on the growth of my business.

I live in Alaska but have been researching real estate investing in Texas because of the strong growth of jobs in TX and that TX has some of the fastest growing cities in the US