I really have two questions for the community:  do you think now is a good time to buy or am I better off waiting for additional econimic fallout to drive pricing downward? 

You can get more accurate on this number by speaking with your lender, but 3% is fine for now.Yes, there is no substitute for driving/walking a neighborhood, but you can definitely do some things to scout it out in advance.

When I am ready to, I plan on driving for dollars and using yellow letters sent to absentee owners. 

What's easy is done to death, I don't know any professional investors who rely upon letters of any color to drive leads. 

When you know your "WHY" you will have the drive to push you past the plateaus of investing when things get dull or hard.2.)

Stay healthy, stay away from bad people.Some ideas to find the deals:walk/drive neighborhoods, look for neglected propertiesadvertise, newspapers, radio, pass out flyersWrite a nice letter to landlordsWhen housing court starts up again, meet landlords there - chatCall and visit owners of Expired Listings - make offersBuild a relationship with a few Realtors, offer to pay them a fee (3-5% of purchase price for unlisted buildings) for presenting your offers to FSBO's and expired listings (auto pilot investing) The purpose behind this is to open negotiations with sellers, I always offer well below their asking price BUT IN WRITING hand delivered by an agent (you save time, cost of gas and you increase the odds of finding a fat equity deal)Study Real Estate Control techniques; delayed settlement, assignment clauses, all types of options, hybrid or JV with sellers, repair consideration with possession (known as front porch offers) use one of the 21 proposals for seller financing (the best highest leverage financing you can get)My LOCK-DOWN has proven to be profitable, I have time to network and develop clients nationwide to mentor/partner transactions.

. * Data drive buying with Comparative Market Analysis from tools like CloudCMA and Realist.Also, would one still be within legal guidelines of the commission if the ad for a realtor is posted without the picture of the agent, or is pasting the picture of the agent in ad a mandatory requirement. 

This drives exponential scale financially and in life which is the ultimate in passive.Additionally, I know several Canadian financial planners who say that many of the tax benefits we enjoy in the US on RE are very limited in Canada.  

I would also consider looking at properties in parts of New Jersey and Connecticut -- pretty much anywhere within an hour's drive of you.

Lake Champlain seems to be situated pretty well with a short drive from a lot of major metropolitan areas, so I would expect that you would be pretty full.