Jeff, I agree with you about the Toronto market, and  it's true (I think) that Canadians are a bit more risk averse than our US counterparts but there must be areas in the country (i.e. outside of the major hubs) where rehabbers or landlords are looking to buy without a realtor. 

Today's appliances - clock radios, computers, flat screen displays, etc. draw much less power than their earlier counter parts: tube radios, TVs, etc.

This is a prime example of how investors ACTIVE in note investing obtain yields about 50% more than their PASSIVE counterparts.  

They tend to be a little less flashy and ego oriented than some of the male counterparts.  

When I moved to SF for grad school we used to marvel at how our counterparts in the midwest could by homes while we were still sharing bedrooms to get by.This was my query just now for studios in SF.  

You may need to help your counterparts at the SW company by providing them with convincing arguments to cost-share which they can use to deal with push-back from senior management/board/investors.

This is especially important in hot markets where values can be volatile and increase or decrease quickly.Zillow and its counterparts usually only have access to public record data which is in most areas delayed past the point of usefully determining current market conditions.I just released a bigger pockets blog post that talks a little more about the subject of getting the right comps and calculating arv here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/68395-how-to-find-real-estate-comps-and-calculate-after-repair-value

My purchase agreement says that it can be executed in counter parts.

I do 3 things differently than my counterparts in my area and they pay off every time, but I believe in quality over quantity.

Multifamiles gives you the opportunity to invest and create positive cash flow that is less riskier than the counterparts ( flipping rehabbing etc).