The longer you hold the property for investment the easier it is to demonstrate that you did in fact intend to hold the property for rental or investment purposes. 

Lau, generally if you are financing with a commercial lender- we lend for business purpose only and a rental property would fall under that category.

The process seems daunting and overwhelming, and I am not confident I will put the time in to talk to sources, analyze, and find properties for investing purposes.

The $200k financing would serve as a purpose to be a downpayment, or do you want the $200k to be the top limit of the investment?

Here’s some context: Property 1: >$100k in EquityValue: $325kDebt: $220k @ 2.88% (30-year fixed)Property 2: >$70k in EquityValue: $325kDebt: $252k @ 3.38% (30-year fixed)Extra considerations: - I have $15-20k liquid to use for any of these deals- My current job is relatively stable, but not high-payin- Current properties in TX, living in NY, looking to invest in Mid-West (crazy, I know)- No other debt obligations besides the two mortgagesUltimate goal/timeline: Though a bit ambitious, I’d love to build up the portfolio to 10-20 units in the next two yearsI understand that any/all replies aren't financial advice; all ideas welcome for information purposes. 

This is the fork where I'm not sure if I'd be good to get some CRE exp and invest in learning about how to review deals for the next 2-3 years, or focus on generating revenue for investment purposes and watch how things are done as a LP.My personality more aligns with networking, reaching out to people, connecting, navigating difficult situations and finding solutions that work.

A goal gives you direction, purpose, and excitement for the future.

I’ve come across details regarding the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, and it seems there are exceptions for buyers with a valid work permit or for properties outside Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) or Census Agglomerations (CA).Do you know if certain types of work permits are more favorable for this purpose?

@Nicholas A. your shotgun approach has a high probability of getting the exact quality you put into it.95%+ of real estate agent, many of them posting they are "investor-friendly", only know how to deal with owner-occupied transactions. 

But when it's equity gains, no tax, only at time of sale and if you 1031 Uncle Sam let's you continue to use that tax-$ for investing purposes.