I do not trust unemployment numbers and a lot of the data from the government so we use what we see in front of us. 

If My father and I use the heloc to fund the repairs; I'm concerned to have payments on a heloc as well as giving up all the cash flow for a period of time.

I would connect with a property manager that is trusted and has experience in the area. 

If you need the lawyer's name let me know.So now I'm sitting on owning an empty lot and still making loan payments.

The limits are not high at first, but they can build with good utilization and payment history.

Last year, on my 9 properties I had negative cash flow after accounting for mortgage payments, etc.

I understand the 25k guy .. and the seller carry back folks normally those I see that do that will get the amount they paid for the dirt back in the down payment and the note is pure profit.

Are you using a 20-35% down payment when evaluating point 3? 

but, it's not going to be "profitable" for several years, depending on how you define profit.you'll have a down payment, then closing costs - which new investors always seem to be shocked by - then potentially some costs to get a property rent ready, then you'll pay a month's rent to get it listed and rented out, then you'll likely have some repairs after the tenant moves in.  

Also people like to feel more important by having LLC or trusts to hide their identity.