I'm curious if anyone has a great system they'd like to share.

There's lots of opportunities in developing neighborhoods, but also seems a bit saturated at the moment.Also, definitely budget security (remote control cameras, alarm system, etc.) for your properties, as there are a lot of people who occupy themselves by breaking into houses and stealing anything they can sell.Lastly, there are a ton of contractors looking for a quick buck.

In our student houses we use a programmable thermostat, but our building monitoring system has its own sensors and can override the wall thermostat and will not allow the temperature to get below 10C (50F) ... we are presently testing a new software load that will also prevent them from cooling the house too far in the summer.

To scale this route you need to have a good system in place to ensure you are profitable.

The way I finally found success was through repetition and then building systems as you repeat to help you scale...

The right team should have every system in place for you to be able to go from novice investor to experienced investor after one deal.  

Been doing my homework and looking around to team up with some excellent individuals and create a working system.  

Quote from @Eduardo Perez-Borroto: Since the HELOC was not used on improving the home you cannot deduct the interest, nor use that to offset your capital gain.Would adding a battery bank system to my solar panels count as home improvement? 

Management & Automation: For those managing remotely, what tools, software, or systems do you rely on?

We're never going to erase class in any capitalistic system so the best you can do is put up some basic guard rails and let the market do what it does.