If you lease option, you should sort of model it after the car market, as they have the lease / option thing nailed.

Finally, since I'm OOS, I want to pay an inspector to check out the house twice a year, which should be about $600 altogetherSo for an imaginary $100,000 duplex with $16,800 ($1,400/month) in rent, my annual balance sheet should be:Mortgage of $5,400Property Tax of $2,000 (assuming 2% rate)Repairs of $840 (spent or saved)CapEx of $3,000 (spent or saved)Vacancy expenses of $1,344 (spent or saved)Property Management of $1,680Landlord Insurance of $300Inspectors at $600Total Expenses of $15,164Rental Income of $16,800Profit of $1,636Does this look right?

Finally you can get cash buyers form list brokers like List source and other companies that sell owner lists.

It also seems your expenses are low by about 20%, quick and dirty rule you should be using 50% of revenue as expenses until you can nail down the actuals for deeper analysis. 

Have the final blueprints.

This also works for fixtures, trim, etc.One final tip would be finding a local surplus shop.

Finally today she talks to him.

First off, I am a long time lurker of the forums and have finally began to segue over in to real estate investing in the last year. 

Nail Hit On Head!

Finally, the Canadian economy is very dependent on the US economy so investing in Canada is probably the worst diversification you can get.Many smart investors from Montreal and elsewhere in Canada rather invest in the US because, in spite of the obstacles, it's much more profitable to do so.