My bank account is connected to Stessa to eliminate the need for me to manually track income, expenses etc. 

The value of your SDIRA may be too low, but I'd recommend Gary Mobbs at South Star Bank in Gonzales, TX.

I contacted Buildium and they confirmed they do not offer credit card tracking, but offered a workaround which was to set up a credit card as a bank account, and when there is a balance it's just always negative in the bank account, and this would allow you to track individual purchases like it was a checking account.  

If it's worth that much, taking a HELOC on it should not be an issue at all long-term or short-term as long as the bank will do it.

Getting into real estate doesn’t have to mean having millions in the bank.

I'm not sure if I want to do co-hosting though. 

Lenders will want to see those funds deposited in a bank or other lending institution on one or two monthly statements.

Basically/Hopefully that is watching rents hit your bank, and occasionally calling a repair service as needed. 

I have one more key question: Since I'll be starting my first-year job upon arrival, banks might be hesitant to lend to me initially.

Since i had capital and had access to my commercial banks for the best rates possible on vertical and horizontal loans..