Therefore, I feel as though this first deal is a huge obstacle to overcome, but once I do the snowball effect will take place, hopefully.

I HATE debt but that mindset enabled me to build an extremely high score that, ironically, I now use to leverage my credit cards for real estate (this is something I do and wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone as you have to be extremely disciplined to do this effectively).   

I even write my own very effective 3 page hand written yellow letters...and have done a few for a couple other wholesalers :) I have to say I love everything about REI and writing my own ebooks about topics pertaining to real estate...

Thank God the insurance policy did not exclude mold/water damage.  

Uninsured Damage: Although a prudent note investor will always require the mortgagor to obtain fire/hazard insurance on the property, some types of damage may not be covered by the policy.

That way you'd get more accurate numbers and inspectors will be more familiar with the regional hardships buildings and structures endure and are damaged by.

There will be deals in Alberta, but likely not until owners are feeling the full effect of the drop in oil on the local economies.

I would personally not be nervous there, but everyone has their own standards.My tenant did state that they would be willing to pay for the door and the installation, so I don't have much of a reason to say no to them, other than not liking the look and being nervous that someone could do some damage by putting it in wrong.

Charging just the banks a negative rate could have the desired effect of stimulating banks to loan money if the economy is really struggling.

So what finishes are you going to be comfortable with where you won't have to spend more money to replace if they get damaged.