Is it customary to negotiate on these items as I would with a traditional seller?

You will get more income than the traditional type of LTR, if it's well run and you are in an area that warrants.

There are a ton of loop holes that many traditional lenders do not know.

I don't have much capital at this point or at least not enough to where I'm willing to part with most if not all of it for a down payment using a traditional loan. 

How easy is it to refi with a traditional bank? 

Move toward shoppers desiring a walkable “experience” rather than a traditional strip centerAs a result many retail properties can not be rented at a economically viable rental rate.

If you're lucky, you can get one on a foreclosure and apply for a traditional low-money down, fixed-interest loan and live in it for 12 months and then make it a rental to satisfy governmental regulations.Less radically, be prepared to lowball a little bit and start tossing offers out. 

Traditional investment loan mortgage How did you add value to the deal?

So if you wouldn't qualify traditional for an VA loan, why would that be a stipulation on the contract?

Traditional retail is not dead - far from it - it's the boring middle of retail that's dead.