My husband just drove up here (I'm in Alberta, he was in Indiana) in June to wait out the remainder of the time. It was very easy, he had proof of our fees, had a copy of my sponsor approval, and also a copy of the receipt for the storage where his belongings are being stored. I was not with him, but the IO could have called me on the cell to verify. They were impressed with how well he knew the process (thanks to this forum) and had him on his way within 15 minutes. They stapled a visitor record in his passport (his first official Canadian document and I got all teary with how official it looked lol), and he has 6 months until it expires. We will just send in a request to extend if it's necessary but omg I hope we have a PR by then lol.
We have changed his mailing address to our address here in Canada, but his residence is listed as his daughter's house in Indiana, since he is only "visiting" at this time.
Hope that helps!