We don’t use the 70% rule for anything except to decide if we’re going to look at the deal… and even then we just want to see if it’s close before we spend time running numbers.

I'm going to reiterate what's already been mentioned above, but I'm going to actually give you examples of why it's relevant to you to find a U.S. tax professional.1 - You're going to need to file U.S. taxes once you have property down here, there's federal filings, state filings, and sometimes local filings too2 - Tons of tax treaties between the U.S. and Canada that are easy to miss and can cost you a lot of money (important one with rentals - effectively connected income - if the professional you talk to doesn't know what this is, run away)3 - The amount of days you spend in the U.S. needs to be tracked and if you go over a threshold, all of your worldwide income could be taxable by the U.S.4 - Selling real property means up to 15% of your sales proceeds might not be available to you for years (FIRPTA)5 - Lots of nuance at the state and local levels, which both want to take as much money from you as possibleMain takeaway here is that you should find a U.S. based tax person.

We look at lenders (so long as they lend in the asset class you are considering) as an additional line of due diligence (they deeply care about their money and they are likely more sophisticated than you are).

Why ask: Get clarity on the full cost of the program, any additional fees, and what’s included.

I heard that less than 20% down causes additional insurance fee? 

If you are setting aside funds for capex, taxes, insurance, or other expenses that don't occur monthly, transfer those funds to Savings each month and hold them there until it's time to spend them.

Is the portal that the landlord and tenants use an additional charge?

These are professionals with additional training and a stricter code of ethics.

Thanks for any additional input you have time to put forth. 

You can later transfer the property to the LLC, but be aware it might trigger due-on-sale clauses or additional costs.