I bought it because I love this city for cashflow and buy & hold investing, even at that price the deal and numbers still made sense, so I didnt care about getting it at a discount.

My dad was a builder (but has now passed) and I just think this makes so much sense but need to find access to the knowledge and potentially an investor/creative financing to do the rest.Anyone who could offer any advice/time/links to info would be greatly appreciated. 

There are a lot of markets that make sense for you.

I've seen funds use them if they're purchasing hundred of properties in that case it makes sense but I've seen many successful investors never really use them. 

That does make sense, Peter!

I was hoping to hear some of the common lenders or institutions that my fellow canadians might commonly use for hard money loans.

Keep your common areas clean and neat, possibly have a house cleaner come in twice a month for these areas if your budget allows it, have solid house rules that you enforce regarding at a minimum quiet hours, parking, smoking, pets, and visitors just for starters and be sure to run it like a business and decide if you will have month to month terms, 6 month terms or yearly terms.

I thought at this point in time it might make more sense to start investing in RE projects that can offer above average returns ( 10+% p.a.) with relatively low LTV's and first lien positions. 

I understand that I would need to find an operator willing to do business with me; I'm simply asking if it makes sense, and if it would be a scalable option to start my first handful of units. 

Overall, you can get a general sense from someone's character when you meet them in person or thru zoom.