Assuming no arm length restrictions have your kids/wife hold title to the land in an LLC & lease it back from them as a valid deduction against rental income.

I'm the opposite of a rehab expert but I did take on my own house renovation not by choice per say.Best I can offer is this.Communication is key, be explicit on what you want with clear explanations.Do not pay if you are not happy.

Most of that additional 4-pages contains items that a) our insurer insists we make clear to the tenant or b) the Rentalsman has decided are behaviours that, while most would consider common sense, we should not expect to occur to the tenant without explicit instruction {like, don't turn the heat off in the middle of winter when you go home for Xmas vacation}.

I got an armed guard for the week and that wasn't cheap.

That's how we usually find the best price in a particular area.The big corps have large contracts so will charge an arm and a leg because they do not need the extra work but will take it for a premium.

And will only get shorter term (15-20 year max), balloon, or ARM financing.

I did not see your above post before the thread slipped from my screen (and mind).You can have a Self-Directed TFSA, just like you can have a Self-Directed RRSP.You can write private notes and mortgages in your self-directed RRSP - there are rules around the percentage of your holdings and the arms-length nature of the mortgage ... then there is the trouble of getting your plan holder to play along.My initial research on Self-directed TFSAs seems to indicate you should be able to do something similar.

You can get a ARM certified property manager to manage and fill the property for you.

My customers will take 5YR ARMS or 30 Year Fixed terms.

Also several local REIA club meetings.Go to IREM.org search for ARM certified property managers call several of them property managers are often the first to know an owner is selling.Good luckPaul