It seems like you have some very solid goals of multiple income streams, and a well calibrated risk tolerance. 

Listing your property there ensures visibility.Build Relationships: When agents reach out, respond quickly, highlight your property’s amenities, and showcase your flexibility to meet displaced families’ needs.Highlight Insurance-Friendly Features: Emphasize features like flexible lease terms, utilities included, and a fully furnished setup to attract insurance placements.This approach has helped me successfully market to insurance companies.

The solar developments that I worked with were all in California and a one in Nevada. 

I've worn three hats in the seller financing world (as a property buyer, as a property seller offering terms, and as an investor that buys seller financed note). 

I picked a mentor and a team to follow and the rest worked out

There are a lot of possibilities and a lot of ways to make money in RE.  

The six month cd isn’t the point my understanding is that I can’t just take out the HELOC, I need to actually use the money for my plan to work and a short term CD seemed safe and reasonable 

Your mentor’s advice about starting with a rental property is solid, and a duplex could be a great option for house hacking.

If you don't already have boots-on-the-ground and a trusted network, it's going to be tougher to do.

If you are competing with cash buyers and a great deal comes your way, it may be worth it to borrower at these higher rates.