They obtain and manage capital, whether it’s private equity/debt, bank financing or personal capital.

Here's a list of things to track:- Formal lease application- Formal signed and executed lease specific to your state- Payment history (I recommend using online rent collection like Apartments.com, RentRedi, etc)- Maintenance requests and receipts- Accounting for all rental-related expenses (repairs, utilities, etc) The more you treat it like a business, the more helpful you are to your CPA come tax time. 

Please recommend a lawyer who works with fixed fee and does not charge for every min s/he talks to you. 

Sounds like it is best to either use the HELOC or obtain a conventional mortgage rather than using a HELOC and then a cash out refi.  

Anyone with experience that can recommend a path forward?

The date you are able to take depreciation is when the property is ready for renting (i.e. advertising for rent or obtaining a certificate of occupancy).

Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

I recommend you go to the source and educate yourself on all the landlord-tenant laws, particularly in an increasingly regulated state like Colorado.Here's a good starting point: https://doh.colorado.gov/landlord-rights-and-responsibilitie...

BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?