The only thing that makes these properties turn key is the fact they are move-in ready for a lower income tenant with low expectations.

Dont spend your hard earned money that should be going to buy assets for a class..

My thinking immediately turned to researching local rental costs per square foot to determine income potential with triple the current square footage.

@Marc Zak Using an LLC for each property provides strong liability protection by isolating risks to individual assets, with income and expenses flowing through to your personal taxes on Schedule E.

If you pay down $100K in loan saving you $1K in monthly costs against rental income, or you invest that $100K in something that generates $1K in net income the result is similar.

This could help decide if the income is enough.  

My plan is to funnel the rental incomes from all three properties, along with my W2 income, back into the HELOC while covering all expenses from it as well.

.-- Or, what we do is offer the free rent AFTER & ONLY if they pay their first 3 months of rent on time to earn it.4) Lower the rent 5% every 2-4 weeks until activity picks up.5) Understand this is the worst time of year to find tenants.-- Starts picking back up end of February when this tenant pool starts getting their income tax refunds and aren't broke anymore.6) Section 8: where is the property being advertised?

If the income requirements are met, credit looks good, and employment history ( at least 6 months +) at the same job, move forward with the applicant and request additional deposit.That's an old eviction IMO.I have a current tenant that I leased to with low 500 credit.

Leverage your W-2 income for better loan terms, explore private/hard money for off-market deals, and network with investors to expand your deal flow.Good luck!