They can take care of a lot of the monotonous tasks, and even do things like send leases, screen tenants, add rent charges, pay utility bills, the list goes on. 

I'd love to utilize their expertise when assessing a property since they are local but I'm not sure what the general expectation is when I don't have a tangible property and I have not entered into contract to work with them yet.Some questions I have are: local regulations/permitting timeline, property's potential from their perspective, landscaping/amenities cost estimate (they also help facilitate this).

However, if you're running your numbers then you'll want to make sure that you're including all the interested paid for the money borrowed from your HELOC as well as the carrying costs including utilities, insurance and property taxes.

What are the expenses (taxes, who pays utilities, etc)?

Tim, in lieu of a damage deposit, have you utilized A deposit insurance such as Rhino? 

Your approach to investing in real estate through purchasing foreclosed homes at local auctions and utilizing the BRRRR (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat) strategy, especially with a focus on Section 8 housing, is a proactive and potentially lucrative path.

I am a fan of utilizing equity in existing real estate owned to build the rental portfolio though at the beginning, rather than just relying on money saved alone.  

Hi Radhika-Congratulations on being a homemaker with young kids and looking to do more for the family financially now that the kids are older.You have 50K to get started but are having difficulty choosing markets and deciding where to begin and you are thinking about single-family long-term rentals out of state because you live in California.I would encourage you to start with duplexes, preferably with 2 bedrooms in each unit for tenant longevity, and ideally with separate utilities.

Vacancy: 3 weeks every 2 years + utilities Make ready expenses: from $1000 to $5000 depending on house needs  

Further, how can you enforce collections if you're not a utility?