Mortgage lending is highly competitive, and there are many newbie loan officers that will bend over backwards to get you to pull a credit report and pay for an appraisal.

I usually work with my local credit union where I have developed a relationship over the years.

I have a few commercial loans that don't report to my personal credit. 

Does anyone utilize a line of credit as an emergency fund?

Speak to everyone.You might investigate a wholesale line of credit if you are doing enough volume.

Double taxation would be when you have to pay US income tax and then also Canada income tax and you don't receive a credit for your US income taxes.

Aim for a 620+ credit score, save for a down payment, and research markets with strong rental demand.

Demand for February/March move-ins should see a notable uptick sometime in January, but you'll for sure see your strongest rental demand in late spring/summer.Your most recent post mentioned that you were going to look for someone for a 6-month lease - I think this is a great way to approach it to minimize vacancy loss while biding your time until we get into the higher demand summer months.Getting creative with your lease term and credits/concessions could also be a good way to solve a few potential problems in one shot. 

I would give Prime Tracers a shot, they are pay as you go and you also get 100 free credits on sign up to try them out. 

You might want to check with local credit unions or community banks, as they’re often more flexible with second mortgages.