I’m looking for mainly to buy and hold as well as an occasional flip to help fund my purchases of rental property’s.

We live comfortably mainly because we have no bills, and we live in an inexpensive place. 6 months ago, my wife and I were able to buy another house.

. - don't confuse it with tax saving - the CSS allows you to accelerate depreciation (you get more of it sooner, and less of it later) so you have to factor that in in your tax strategy- it's good to have CSS done when you replace an item (you'll be able to claim loss deductions)- there is also an inheritance benefit - your heirs will benefit from a CSS in place.Maybe @Wes Mabry can offer more advice.

One additional factor that helped me in the early stages of REI was having the advice of a trusted real estate agent.

@Samuel Carmichael besides what @Brandon Ingegneri said about looking at absolute dollar amounts to figure out if it's even worth the aggravation, I also agree with @Michinori Kaneko about looking at percentages.Personally I look at percentages first, namely 1) cash on cash return (yearly money back after all expenses including mortgage, divided by all money invested to get it rentable) and 2) debt service coverage ratio (net income after operating expenses but before mortgage payment, divided by the mortgage payment).The first is (obviously) a measure of return, while the second is more of a measure of risk as it tells you how much of a buffer you have between the property's net income and the monthly fixed mortgage payment.After you get a little more experience you'll also start to factor things like replacement reserves into account.

Satya,I invest in KC mainly in SFHs but also looking to expand to MFHs.

The interest rate is the main issue in my eyes and refinancing isn’t good option evidently when you live and work abroad.

Danko- "The Undoing Project" - Michael LewisOverall, my main concern is the numbers talked about for some of the American markets seem unrealistic here in Ottawa, even relative to the surrounding smaller towns.

No access to base, but live just outside the main gate.  

The cost of a survey can vary widely depending on many factors.