I believe it tends to give me a slightly lower return, because the sponsor is going to be more careful, and if there is a severe downturn will prevent me from taking catastrophic losses.

There are also winter issues (e.g frozen pipes possibly bursting and having to crank up the heat to prevent that) that we don't deal with in CA.

The duplex I just got I am putting in 10k just for preventive maintenance making my all-in price 90k, with 20k in rent.

The single-minded focus on cash flow, even while house-hacking, has prevented so many people from buying here in Denver and Colorado Springs. 

I don't know if there are privacy protection laws preventing this in Canada though.

Our first contractor screwed up the flooring, he did not handle the sound prevention so now the neighbor underneath is complaining the noise from our floor.

My realtor informed me that he attempted to persuade the buyer to increase their offer to $224k, but their budget constraints prevented this.

What else would you screen to prevent this from happening?

One of the first things I do when I buy a property is to look it over carefully and do as much preventive work as is necessary.  I see you’re in Gatlinburg.

If you start with a dehumidifier right away, you can prevent any growth on the backside of the sheetrock, and once the walls and area are thoroughly dry, the mold will not continue to grow.