If I am understanding you correctly- you need to pay for the rehab costs out of pocket.

So, it will always be labor intensive since the information is often not correct.

For the lawn mowing I would call lawn mowers in the area and get bids. 

While it may (or may not) pick correct comps as far as square footage, beds, and baths, I doubt it knows neighborhoods--sometime just crossing the street makes a huge difference--or condition. 

The most basic and logical explanation for something is often correct, but proving it can be a whole other ballgame.

With mold issues it is always a two part question. 1st is has the mold been remediated and 2nd and most importantly has the issue been corrected that allowed the mold issue to begin.

In most cases, the foreclosing lender sets an opening bid. 

You are correct the oil boom has caused significant increases in property costs here.  

Let me make sure I understand you correctly. 

I remember reading that one of the units could be commercial space as long as it is less than 50% of the building, but I cannot find any info about this on the cmhc site.Am I remembering this correctly?