Moving forward with renting out former primary residence

[Kristofer Willis]

Hi folks, I currently have a property that I own and will be seeking to rent to market. There is no first mortgage on the home, however it does have a HELOC attached to it with $70,000 limit ($25,000 of that is used).

To prepare it for a rental, I am considering creating and putting this home in an LLC to reduce liability and make everything "business official". I'd like to keep the $70k HELOC attached to the home, but since I'm putting it in an LLC, will I also need to cancel the HELOC?

I realize this may be a bank specific question. The HELOC is with PenFed and I've been waiting hours to get through to them. In general what are your thoughts?

If I do not put it in an LLC to retain the HELOC, are there other strategies for limiting liability from tenants, or is it just not worth it.

Moreover, if there is a link to a "2020" first-time landlord guide with resources for web-based property management, tenant contracts, etc., please feel free to share (I'm still curating my lists). I'd like to try to manage all this myself, except for taxes and legal.

Thanks so much!