As long as you do your due diligence and stay up to date on your property then having a property manager can be really beneficial.

I do think it would be beneficial if you did MTM instead of a yearly lease because, as you said, it protects you instead of the tenant. 

A lot of times it’s more beneficial to lower the price a little then to hold it vacant.  

My main concern was that with a HELOC I would not want to carry the additional payment for a long time, so maybe investing in a flip or something that would allow me to recoup the cash within a relatively short period of time would be most beneficial? 

Is a Line of Credit more beneficial as to have the funds readily available?

That being said, the cost of living means that selling a million dollar home isn't as beneficial here as in other locations haha. 

The rest of my savings are in Mutual/income funds that I can easily access within 24 hrs.  

This would be much more beneficial to my real estate endeavors.

@Julio Salado Get a free consultation with a CPA, you can weigh your options together and reach a beneficial decision.

If you are wanting multi-family, I think it’s beneficial to start with B+ as the minimum threshold.We have been lucky with our tenants staying.