I will be furnishing one side for now and leasing to a mid term rental until i get a property management company that will work the property or get it leased out to students What was the outcome?

For full protection, your mortgage company will likely still require you to carry a landlord or dwelling policy.

What about if you set up a maintenance company that maintains all of the properties, then you have a real estate attorney prepare all of the lease agreements.

Suncoast is a very big company.  

HELOCs are not available because they are residential loans guaranteed by individuals and what you seek is a type of commercial loan or credit line which are available to seasoned companies with proven financial track record.

Quote from @Mark Forest: The company I have invested with has done a great job explaining why this is happening and what they are doing about it. 

Having a long-term rental while living abroad is do-able.Flipping houses while abroad, in my opinion, more difficult, especially if its your first go around with real estate.I would recommend taking a flight and staying in the area for a week and inspect the neighborhoods and make connections.You can reach out to @Elenis Camargo who has a PM company in Jacksonville.Best of luck though.

There aren’t many residential development companies operating at this level, which reduces competition and risk.

you are going up against people and companies that spend thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars a month in marketing. 

With that being said, in a worst case scenario, you can always hire a property management company to handle the day to day items if it comes to that.