As far as the cash reserves, he recommends getting a $1000 "baby emergency fund" very first.

So when we know we will have a baby girl we decided to add a bathroom into our room to make it a master.

If there's no nursery to paint in the apartment, put the baby in the living room for a couple months while you shop for a new home (the baby won't know:). 

Many are wolves in sheep clothing.

I think it's a great idea, as the baby boomers are moving into retirement, kids are moving back home, etc.

Congratulations on your first baby and welcome to BP @Lani Henning

Location will be critical.Older shopping centers or strip centers in great locations are being refaced and the parking lots redone to make them pop again.National tenants have a rep to uphold and have to get a certain look and feel for their image going in versus a mom and pop just looking at cost per sq ft more in a good location.If your strip is in a non premium location or where a part of the town is getting older and newer development is moving away you will be more in trouble as your cost per sq ft will go down and your tenant clientele will change.During the boom times retailers grew everywhere and new development was expanding.Now retailers see this is an excellent time to negotiate existing leases or sign new leases to get great terms before the next up cycle.Now national retailers are in a "smart and controlled growth" mode.They do not want to go somewhere just because it is 4 per sq ft less.Ultimately if they pay more but get a more central and profitable location that is key to their success.Many companies that branched out into different growth strategies have reeled back to their core values and strategies.Retail is getting the crap kicked out of it right now and is expected to continue through 2012.A lot of it depends on how much the local market is saturated.For instance clothing stores even with the closures have too many in the marketplace now unless they are filling an untapped niche."

As I mentioned too, legally, it can be predatory dealing or financing, opinion may have little to do with it if a deal blows up later on, depends on who is pinching the baby.

If you are buying and STR- most are in good areas that appreciate...grow your wealth baby and let the guests pay your mortgage down! 

I also hope that being a real estate agent would give me more of a flexible schedule to spend time with my babies.