Is it as simple as looking for new restaurants, Starbucks, whole foods, etc. in the area or is should I be looking at more hard data (unemployment, income, etc.).

I got a Cease and desist letter from the state within 10 days and had to sign a notarized statement that I had never done a loan in NV as i am not licensed there.. being NMLS licensed personally I am easy to track of course.My thought is NV maybe one of those states that is aggressive with enforcing the laws of the land.. at least as it relates to the mortgage industry.. and of course you see many scammers with a NV address.. all anyone has to do is file one complaint and those folks are shut down.

Bottom line is the city gets $$$ for each booking, so unless neighbors complain or someone tries to be correct about it, they are happy to keep their mouths shut to their voters and their pockets open to the violators. 

He also talked a lot about the value add possibilities of changing traffic flow, attracting certain tenants, upgrading facades, considering synergy (Churches draw crowds on Sunday mornings, Restaurants draw crowds on Friday and Saturday nights, so a parking lot need not accommodate max crowds at both simultaneously... etc.

They are the ones that can shut you down in a flash.  

I know Hickory used to be a major furniture town however if I am not mistaking, the major factory shut down a long time ago. $20k is very inexpensive - I don't think I could buy a mail box in San Diego for $20K

Any talk of a lawsuit and I automatically shut down and push the case to the legal route.You are right to proceed but just make sure you cross your T's and dot your I's.

Can you buy a commercial building that is a like a restaurant type and convert it to a residential building or should you just look for a residential apartment complex right away?

If he shut it off, the tenant skipped on you and turn the power back on ASAP  to protect the property from cold weather damage.

I know that numbers also don't tell the whole story.For cash flowing multi family I'm interested in the income stream, and whether there are good cafes, restaurants, etc nearby enough.