I think of their stringent underwriting as a good check and balance. 

It will take a little while I imagine but having a 4hr travel time is a good measure to have as well, so if you are ever needed, you can make the trip out there relatively quickly.I'm also debating if I should buy in cash or try to get a mortgage, which is harder to get for Canadians, so I've got a few doors to knock on still but it's encouraging to see people making out of state investments so often now.

I'm attaching a picture of the kitchen plans with measurements and hoping someone can help me out.  

Post an ad on Craigslist or something, it's not that hard to measure out and paint lines, you could even tell you're manager you'll give him $150 to do it if he wants the extra money. 

For properties located in primary markets, instead of a dichotomous characterization of a property either cash flowing or not cash flowing, wouldn't it be more appropriate to measure the degree of cash flow?

This is a document that uses the address in question and the FEMA flood maps and determines where the structure (note we can only insure structures not land) The reading will come back with a note that the property is in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) which are typically your A's and V's.An  Elevation Certificate (EC) is a document that a homeowner usually has to do and pay for and is typically used by the  FEMA/NFIP/Government policy (which has had a  50-year monopoly on flood insurance) The Elevation certificate is done by a FEMA approved Surveyor where they come out and get a bunch of measurements around your property (Elevation measurements) and put together the formal EC this cost anywhere from $600 - $1200 I always recommend my client shop the options and pit them against each other.

It would be interesting to see if there's a measurable increase in deals, or even if just one seller said that the brochure clinched it for them.

You can either start measuring penises or be professional and go on with business. 

While reviewing the original plat it looks like the property lines should be perpendicular to each other while on the survey they are not also on the plat it is recorded the distance between the two properties across the street from each other should be 55ft if I measure from one fence to the other fence it is pretty dead on could the survey be wrong?

Sometimes the plan reviewers are over zealous and make overly stringent requests that the building official can over ride.