House was built in 1980, is in a safe area with good school district, but it's a small town between two larger towns that has lower demand (but also very few rentals available and they tend to go quick). 

As your unit is a four bed/2.5 baths, you will definitely attract more families rather than individuals who rent with roommates. 2-3 beds tend to attract the latter rental group and with the larger amounts of beds and baths, that's more appealing to a larger family renter.First couple is obviously out - too many people and it does not seem like they're qualified.

The larger brokerages tend to have more training, but also take a larger cut out of your commission.

Seasoned investors tend to get the most bang for their buck in these cases. 

Most of the time the reason is BS but every once in a while you get the honest "being kicked out"I require 5 years of address history on my application because previous landlords tend to be a more accurate reference rather than current landlords. 

I would tend to agree with @Caleb Heimsoth  that you may not be in the right financial situation currently to invest in real estate.

My hesitation with BC is that I can only afford a condo and don't feel like that may be a good long term investment, but also a 1M+ detached home in greater BC wouldn't be a good cash flow either and would be moreso banking on appreciation only which I wouldn't feel comfortable with.I have actually looked into edmonton and even flew over to look at some of the bi-levels but the 300k-ish ones tend to be a bit rundown and more work than I may be interested in as a first time investor from afar. 

While two reps from the same firm will quote you the same rate, their ability to execute the loan can be night and day different.In regards to pros and cons ... think of the lending world as falling into 3 primary buckets: 1) traditional banks and credit unions (ie, Wells, BofA, Chase, etc), 2) mortgage banks (ie, Caliber, Quicken, Fairway, etc), and 3) mortgage brokers.Traditional Banks: (they do loans and hold deposits)Pros: because they tend to do such a large volume of loans, they are able to offer low rates ... they have the ability to do portfolio loansCons: very slow turn times - if you need to close quickly, they're generally unable to perform ... they tend to use national appraisal management companies and appraisal issues are common in competitive markets.Mortgage Banks: (they only do loans - no deposits)Pros: have the ability to close loans much faster - some of the local mortgage banks that we work with on purchases will routinely close loans in less than 14 days ... they often setup their own appraisal management companies and are able to improve the appraisal quality by ensuring the use of local appraisers.Cons: while they should be very competitive with their rates, they're not going to be the absolute lowest ... portfolio loans are generally not an option - they need to sell their loans right away so they can get that money back to lend it out again.Mortgage Brokers:Pros: they will have access to a bunch of different lenders and loan products, so they can submit your info to whichever one is offering the best terms at that moment.Cons: they have no control/influence over the underwriters or the timeframes ... they're generally forced to use national appraisal management companies, so appraisal issues are more commonHope this is helpful and good luck with the refi!

I tend to bite off more than I can chew but if I don't try I don't know.

I tend to be a more risk averse, because I feel that allows me more options if the economy shifts.