I owe 420k on the house (2.2k/mo mortgage) and live in the 4/2.5 upstairs while my renter (medical resident) pays $1375 to live in the MIL suite that is a 1/1 - it has separate entrance/exit.

@Joe G.I am not in anyway, shape or form benefit financially from this company, but when I was looking for a lender for my rental, I went back to the lender for my primary residence (Caliber Home Loans). 

Account ClosedYou can't claim it as a primary residence and pay yourself rent.

@Christopher PhillipsThe wholesaler sold this house 1.5 yrs ago, I saw the inspection report from then and as stated the wholesaler is a general contractor also and shared with me his inspection report of repairs made when current owner purchased, I feel comfortable that I've waived the inspection.The thought of a Lawyer has been thought of but would the lawyer need to be in the state of purchase or where I reside?

Not so much for tax reasons, but just for an overall investment/savings with the goal to pay off our main residence as soon as possible.We only have 9 years to pay off the 15 yr mortgage on the condo, which is the rental.

Have any Canadian investors tried to get a US mortgage through using friends in the US? If so, what was the process like and how did you go about it?

A hard money lender has you sign a form that says that the money they are lending on is not a primary home because they can’t lend at hard money rates on a primary residence.

I have found a few multi-family properties I am interested in purchasing, all meeting at least my minimum cash flow numbers and Cash on Cash percentages, however these properties are about 4 hours away from my primary residence.

I have read about surcharging the residents a certain amount (maybe $25-50/month)  Do I just include that in my loan amount or can that just be listed in the lease as a separate expense for the tenants? 

Although you shouldn't need 20-25% down for an owner occupied residence.