One of the reasons I harp on learning RE basics, knowing that will make you the expert in the room.Too much sizzle in RE can become illegal, unethical and just dangerous, it's called "fluffing" and/or "puffing" overstating facts, giving implications or misleading others.

The real danger is that few of these sites actually vet their advertisers and have no idea who they really are.In these cases, you have no idea with whom you're dealing or even the country in which they reside.

I know I'm not the only Canadian that looks south, what solutions are people using to mitigate the exchange rate risk?

VERY VERY dangerous for the seller and far more dangerous than having the ( don't know crap wholesaler with no real money) just tieing it up on contract. 

I understand why you did it, but from an investment standpoint, it doesn't make any sense.I don't know your market, but gambling that the property value will increase faster than what you bleed every month is highly speculative and very dangerous unless you have a LOT of disposable income that you don't mind disposing of if your gamble doesn't pay off.Check your lease, can you break it if the property is sold?  

I am a proponent of starting smaller to mitigate your risk as you move forward.  

Pre-death transfers are possible however you treading in potentially dangerous territory if you interfere with complex estate planning issues.Issues concerning the competency of the transferor, intra-familiar dynamics (potential for will contests, etc.) and other pitfalls are not appropriate for the real estate investor to be involved. 

Are they offensive or just an experienced investor's way of mitigating downside risk?

If a guarantor transfers assets out of the guarantor's name in order to avoid liability under a personal guarantee, this is fraud, and a good attorney may be able to claw back those fraudulent transfers.It would be best to talk to your attorney about how to mitigate your risk in these situations.

Dangerous dog breeds, Umbrella policies and their limitations, previous lapses, previous damage and liability claims.