The estimates, one from a guy we've used before and another local contractor, are in the 200-300k range.Those estimates sound wildly inflated to me based on quite a bit of research I've done online.

David,Are you interested in anything that fits your criteria in the Fayeteville NC area, near Fort Bragg military base.

I would get the seller to do profit participation based on the new infrastructure that's built.

It is probably not the best deal to be had based on the amount of cash out of pocket, but for a first investment property, I would call it a success. 

Residential sales can be emotionally driven, while commercial is very business based.

@Robert Lindsley Couple things that come to mind based off first look: I would include CapEx @ 10-15% as well.

I invest in passive index based mutual funds.

@Dustin Palls you asked for someone with industry knowledge, I gave you advice based off of what you said in your post.

It's at THAT point that you'll be able to confirm that you bought a great "deal", but, you should already have a clue, based on whether you paid under-market and/or know how to value-add!

Based upon my research of the area around the Grove PATH so far, I think $1500-2000/mo is reasonable rent for a unit, which puts me at a cap of around $725k for a property (FHA PMI is killer…).