Ian, keep at it and you will find the success you defined . 

Sounds like wherever I end up, almost regardless of the evaluation criteria at the state level, I can find success in a surrounding market, which will benefit me in a big way to be somewhat local to my investment market. 

We started a home renovation company and have had a lot of success over the past 2 years, but we have always had the goal of investing in real estate and recently decided to go for it.

My parents do not want me to get into hvac they think i may not be successful and will end up hating my career. i think a job like that can motivate me to get started. what do you guys think?

You might have noticed that people that have been successful with rental units in  houses have to own about 20 or 30 of them just to cover their monthly bills, then they might get some of the profit when they own 30 or 40 all at different addresses.With apartment complexes you might just have one address where you have many units. 

I am sure everyone who is on this forum who is successful has gone through it.   

I thought the Canadian market was complicated and I had no real idea how to be successful financially as person. 

I do as much due diligence as possible and if I like the odds of success I place my bid.

I've seen other posts that suggest conducting an ARV analysis to get this answer, but I just don't have enough experience (or confidence) to trust the results that I would achieve.

They aren't looking out for your best interests long term and setting you up for success on the next move.