If repairs can be done for .25 and all your holding closing and selling costs come in at .25 seems like purchase price of 1.5 doesnt matter as long as you have access to the cash. 

You'll want to make sure you have MLS access (realtor.com or via a local realtor -- ideally both) as zillow's MLS info is often innacurate or outdated.Also check the REO sites directly (auction.com, hubzu, homepath, hudhomsetore, hudsonandmarshall, etc) as not all of their properties end up on the MLS or zillow.

There are other reasons to sell off one's holdings ... perhaps retirement.As you alluded, privacy laws in Canada make it far more difficult to acquire or create a list of landlords from tax or property records.You still may be able to access estate information in l'inventaire après décès (literally: inventory of the estates of deceased persons).

If your housekeeper has access w&d in his/her own home then that would be ideal.

If so, I'd concentrate on that one area and keep the option to do all the PM myself (you still have the option to contract that out, but if they're in 5 different markets, counting the one you live in, you don't really have that option).I think you could even consider doing 9 and keep a single $50K contingency fund, or even 10 if you have access to very good line of credit that isn't likely to be pulled.

The area where there was a building will have a solid fence and be rather private (limited access) but open to the public for setting, having coffee, etc. .  

Work with a mortgage broker who has access to various loan products from various companies.When it comes to investment properties, 1st mortgages are going to loan up to 65%-75% LTV. 

I'm very passionate about the revitalization efforts and serve on various committees dedicated to improving the artistic community, accessibility, tourism of the downtown.

I agree that there definitely can be benefits to having a RE license when investing, especially the quick access to MLS data.

I took a real estate course and passed the NJ state real estate test to become a Realtor so that I could have access to the MLS, be able to have access to houses I wanted to see, and not have to pay closing costs.