I owned for 37 years, raised the rent many times, and later sold for 6X what I paid. 

Later I find out from the tenant that the tenant pays their rent early and has already paid January’s rent.

Later I was able to buy the vacant lot between for a grand total of about 2.4 acres.All the houses are in bad shape.

Sometimes life happens faster than you think (weddings, job changes, market shifts), so it helps to know your break even point in case you need to move on sooner rather than later.

My tenant has a ESA, and may be changed later to service dog.  

My question is, if I do want to make an offer funded with a HELOC, can I later bring in investors or even a hard money lender before the purchase?

I am wanting to be able to stop working full time sooner than later as I would like to be able to spend more time with my family and enjoy life. 

If you do place the property in her name, then inherit it later, it does allow for you to receive a step up in basis at that point, allowing you to sell the house shortly after her death without paying capital gains tax.5. 

And because I'm looking for a long term finance situation, I'm not looking for a loan that is going to have a really high interest rate, with hopes of refinancing later.

If appreciation and scalability are your long-term goals, consider house hacking or saving for a bigger market later.