@Troy S.I would say it depends on your level of connections to businesses and expertise in dealing with different businesses (e.g. logistical/legal/practical issues leasing the space to a restaurant versus convenience store).

Is the neighbor aware of the situation?

We're also a single income family and are going to get into RE out of necessity - the most pressing situation being that I haven't driven a stick shift car in about 6 years since I sold my 944 Turbo before we got married.

I've been having some difficulty finding a bank that would offer an FHA option for a mixed use property (2 residential, 1 store/office).

In my particular situation, I could lose 58% of my income and I would still be able to service my total expenses.

My landlord has a history of towing broke down vehicles, so I was proactive and talked with the property manager about it to let him know the situation.

Short of that, you can be nice and give him 30 days notice of termination of work agreement and 30 days notice to apply for his apartment, the same as similarly situated tenants.

I realize you said your situation is different and it's just you and your husband...we have a cleaning crew ready if needed but we like seeing our investment every week ourselves! 

If there are situations like close to a highway or next to a shopping mall then the price has to reflect the downside of the purchase.

@Divya Pratap that is a lot of complex situations.