I'm also an owner and now co-host to properties in DFW and Waco, TX.

I think the VA loan house hack is an incredible opportunity for service members, and I think you could absolutely take advantage of it if you'd like to! 

I think that losing the HELOC should create a little better cash flow but at the very least it will put some stability into my debt service. 

I believe that RentRedi also has leases as part of its service. 

As the host, you have the final say on who moves into the house.

I stand corrected:)They do have an office in Metro Detroit and while we're far from perfect, we seem to get a lot of their unhappy previous clients.In our opinion, they built a system for Class A rentals - where tenants have 680+ credit scores and rarely have to be evicted or trash properties.They then tried to apply their processes to Class B & C rentals and that's when their service issues increased.All this caused them to recently significantly increase their Flat Fee pricing and monthly minimum charges.

You could lease part for food service or coffee shop and some retail space, a small health club, massage. 

The Federal Trade Consumer’s Bureau of Consumer Protection stops unfair, deceptive and fraudulent business practices by collecting reports from consumers and conducting investigations, suing companies and people that break the law, developing rules to maintain a fair marketplace, and educating consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities.In all other industries consumers are able to rate the performance of service providers and potential investors have a right to have these insights.

In my experience, cash flow is key, especially for long-term holds, so running a detailed DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) analysis might be a good step here.On the flip side, if you're eyeing faster returns, a flip might be more lucrative.

There is a free website that I use to find the estimated short term rent based on Airbnb data.The same information you can get from airdna but you need to pay for that service.