If you are willing to commit to a property for 10 to 20 years, you will definitely make money but no one has a crystal ball for lesser time periods.My wife was in the NAVY and we went to San Diego for four years.  

I’m committed to being a sponge and learning as much as I can about growing my network, finding reliable subcontractors in the area, and truly knowing my goals and strategies before committing to an investment.

It used to be 6 months from sale would be good enough (30 years ago).I could go hard money, but I would want to watch the pre-pay penalty, points and interest.I will most likely hold onto the property for 2 years as residence if I don't use hard money.You won’t be able to obtain a conventional 80% mortgage by having the seller carry the 20% balance without committing mortgage fraud - lenders will require the down payment from the borrower and require you to sign statement declaring that the source of the down payment is not borrowed funds.  

Never sign anything without knowing exactly what you're committing to.  

I also have commitments back here in Nebraska so wouldn't be able to move there until January @Jaxon Johnson What about this property: 506 Town and Country Dr NW, Huntsville, AL 35806?

Plenty of realtors go for eXp Realty, a primarily online brokerage, as a relatively low fee low commitment brokerage 

To answer your question more specifically: One simple way to structure it is with an LLC with the two of you as members, and perhaps with you as the managing member (so you can sign for the LLC, commit funds, buy and sell assets, etc).

T-12 income/expense statement.

Look for proximity to Tier 1 providers (AT&T, Lumen, Verizon).Map out “dark fiber routes” — some counties and old industrial parks are sitting right on them.Location EconomicsLow energy cost = higher margins.Best states (so far): Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio, Utah, and Missouri.Bonus: tax incentives in data-center-friendly states like Virginia or Nevada.Design & ConversionFocus on “powered shells”: basic infrastructure (cooling, power, racks).Partner with small hosting providers or mining companies to lease in bulk.Financing OptionsSBA 504 loans (only ~10% down if you own the operating company).DSCR or asset-based financing once the first lease is in place.Incentives: some states give credits for energy-efficient retrofits or tech infrastructure.📈 The Business Model (in simple terms)Phase 1: Buy an older warehouse <$1M.Phase 2: Invest ~$150k–$250k in power upgrades, HVAC, and security.Phase 3: Lease out racks or entire rooms to tech tenants.Phase 4: Refinance at the new appraised value (cap rate compression = wealth).Done right, a single small facility can net $40k–$70k/month, while the property value triples.🧭 My Next StepI’m currently analyzing a few markets (Dallas–Fort Worth, Huntsville AL, and Columbus OH) and talking to brokers about properties under $1M that already have decent power access.I’d love to hear from anyone who has:Invested in industrial-to-data-center conversionsWorked with colocation or mining tenantsExperience with utility upgrades or zoning for high-power facilitiesQuestion for the community:If you were starting from scratch in this space — what would you focus on first?

Quote from @Huong T Nguyen: Quote from @Mike Fisher: I would be happy to share my experience with Delta Build with two words.