In general, I would choose the HELOC only if my intentions were to pay it off in the near term. 

Steer clear of financially irresponsible people that have debt, choose your partner wisely and they will be a attribute.

In Virginia, it's actually written into the landlord tenant laws that landlord can require a renter's insurance policy and actually purchase one and charge the tenant if tenant chooses not to purchase one, as long as total cost of security deposit and renter's policy equals less than 2 months' rent.  

But there might be a way that I'm not aware.The best advice i can give you is to spend the time to do a good screening before choosing a tenant to mitigate this in the future.Best of luck

Should you do it is an entirely different debate)We obviously have fundamentally different understandings of how the equities market works and choose to invest differently.

@Jordan l@Jordan Leithart If you're going to invest out of state, my advice is not to choose a market based on the fact that you spend a lot of time visiting family there but base it instead on whether the market fits your criteria and offers the best chance of achieving your overall financial objectives.

I understand structural components, city code, foundations, going rate for trim, paint, drywall, roofs... you name it. :-) just haven’t been on here in a while, due to working.

Other than that, it will depend largely on the timing and merits of the specific opportunities you have to choose from.

The podcasts suggest giving the owner financing options to choose from instead of just a yes or no type of deal.

With turnover, there is cost - finding a new tenant, lost rental income, making the unit rent ready (paint, repairs, etc).