Commercial property usually allows the tenant to make improvements suitable for their business but you need to set limits, establish an approval process, and decide what happens to the improvements when the tenant leaves.You can get by treating it like a residential but I highly recommend you learn how to run a commercial property and get all the benefits of that investment.

Thank you for your responses.Now I feel more confident in submitting a my pre-qualification.

Podcasts were my primary source of education & what gave me the confidence to make the plunge. 

As crazy as it is to see Philly on the list twice, the crazier part is how much room there still is for improvement.  

I really do like the idea of syndication, and am trying to gain confidence in vetting equity deals. 

We'll keep the property in the family and use it as a rental, with capital improvements along the way.

Appraiser will of course see your purchase price and treat it as a data point, best way to overcome that is to hand him a before/after binder that includes all improvements you've done to the property etc. 

The one that I'm sure I have a lot to improve on is managing contractors. 

Are you planning on trying to force equity by fixing it up and making improvements yourself?

You need to review the PM contract to find out.Moving forward, it is wise to have healthy reserves for capital improvements.