The way I see it, the cash-to-refinance route would give us a bit of a competitive advantage when buying, since paying by cash would likely appeal more to sellers.  

It can be very competitive, but once you hit your stride, it can be great.

The MFH market can be quite competitive out that way with the high demand from housing brought on by students.

She isn't going to want 5+ years of payments, but I do know that she is open to creative ideas, as her place will be hard to sell on the retail market and since it's unlisted we don't have a lot of investor competition.  

We've done most of the work ourselves to this point and have gained a good amount of knowledge as a result.Obviously the market in the Vancouver area is white hot right now and competition is intense. 

You have to move FAST when buying, there is lots of competition so the good deals are gone instantly.

Just don't be scared to up your offers a little bit initially, because it is competitive out there.

There are also a lot of newer note investors and many are staying away from the judicial states which has a little less competition as recently pricing in non judicial states has skyrocketed.

Fractional Ownership5.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have both announced programs that provide long-term financing at competitive interest rates to help investors refinance and acquire SFR properties.