The fact you have very little money to start is even more of a reason not to waste it

So this makes effective use of your nights and weekends critical. 

Has anyone out there purchased an investment property in a cost effective city while renting in an expensive city (such as Toronto)?

What if they have no equity, and you are just wasting your time. 

Georgia,I think they are a waste of money.Mark

Now, if they're not paying rent, don't waste time filing for whatever the first step of missing rent is.

So much time wasted on one tenant.

Once you know your What you could sell them for, then you can answer the question of what is the effective ROI based upon current valuation.

All the real estate forums, podcasts, You-Tube seminar stuff you have basically wasted your time with hasn't given you any direction, no plan, or any knowledge of business, as most others, you're still rather lost. 

How can you possibly do it that cost effectively?