I would invest the upfront effort in self-education (there are a variety of books which will provide you a good primer on real estate in Canada and you have already found one of the more useful sites on the Internet).Once you know which area(s) of real estate investing are of interest to you, look for a local real estate investors association or meeting in Winnipeg and attend an event or two.  

At some point I may miss something and have it come back to me, but I have saved so many thousands of dollars on title searches, I consider it "self insuring". 

Here is my definition of Rent To OwnThe program I follow is Tenant First – this means that I don’t buy a home until I have the tenant.The rent-to-own program is typically for people who don’t meet the minimum credit requirements for a mortgage, don’t have enough for a down payment or don’t have a track record of income (less than 3 years self-employed).

However, since you've already closed on the property and began renovations, there may be an alternative out there (if you have a Self-Directed IRA, maybe another loan option. etc.)...I'm not 100% sure.

Hello,I'm interested in buying a self storage unit in Hamburg, Germany.I googled a bit but couldn't find any results.

The process it self isnt easy but if done right i dont see how any investor would turn down a GOOD deal . at the end of the day I've come to find its all about getting the purchase price down . 

It obviously depends on the specific situation, but generally owners who would be willing to self-fund the transaction don't carry any mortgage.

I self manage everything which is why I buy close by so that I am a yell distance from home so if my family needs some help I am available.  

We want someone who can advise us on entity structure and tax strategies as we continue to acquire and self-manage apartment buildings.

A historic form of mortgage fraud for self employed persons was to dummy up fake tax returns saying you make $1m/year for the lender, when in reality the returns you gave the IRS said you made $50k last year.