Target occupancy was 60%, which was achieved very quickly, as well.We operated using triple net leases with our business tenants and started with 5-year leases for established companies and 3-year for relatively young companies...only one lease was written for one year because it was to a mutual friend.All spaces at that time were leased between $7 & $8 per sq. ft.

I'm also quite certain that a newbie from Lodi could not do the same, and asking a RE agent or turnkey operator to sort the two out for them is like asking a barber if you need a haircut.

It's nice that the seller is willing to participate in the financing but you may want to think carefully about those terms, what the net operating income is, where you are in the cycle, and if you can negotiate for better terms.If they want principal back in 5 years I would drop the amortization and just stick with interest only or more payments.

I guess I just always operate on the assumption that having cash on hand is better for obtaining loans than that same amount in the form of equity. 

You may need an operating agreement--the format could vary between different custodians.

While I agree with Derek that you don't want to over reserve, you also don't want to under reserve which could put you in an awful situation of not having enough operating capital.   

Time has to be set aside for management as well, the more properties you have the more management time required, they don't operate on autopilot without help.

I was speaking from a macro view of a niche operation in the real estate industry, mostly residential investing or operations.

My goal: -- Get out of my current situation of owning and operating a small plumbing company.

Retail rate sheets by contrast have operating expenses built into them and do not need to be marked up.