@Mitchell RosenbergAnother approach is the elimination method.

If you are taking on debt for the STR this gets a little more complicated, but not much. 

We are only selling completed homes with our own in house financing currently at 3.75%, a huge discount from most bank rates.We are a long time property provider for some of the bigger podcasters: Real Estate Guys Radio, Marco Santorelli (Norada), Kathy Fetke (RWN) Jason Hartman ( Empowerd Investor) GRE (Keith Weinhold), Whitecoat Investor Group and more We also work with American Homes for Rent, Invitation Homes, Crescent, Haven Realty (JP Morgan) to name a few on the institutional side We are partially owned as of 2022 by Sumitomom Forestry, which means we have no bank debt and self fund all our building projects.

I realize no one has a crystal ball, but I see no scenario where the housing shortage did not get worst in coastal CA by the elimination of 1000s of homes.As stated I agree with your sentiment. 

The new law eliminates the corporate veil for LLCs.You should purchase the maximum liability protection you can get on the property policy.

Tenants will prioritize their debts based on reprocutions. 

When your LLC takes a loan, expect as members to personally guarantee the debt.

After closing, work on increasing your income, reducing debt, and preparing for a second mortgage.

Regarding the HELOC question, consider the interest rate on the debt.

Usually its because there is a lot of debt risk. when interest rates went up a year or so ago I lost over 300k in sydication projects I was a part of because I didn't understand this concept.