So those are kind of my options- rent at a loss or sell for the balance.

I think Rooms to go would be a good option to get you started given your distance.

You have an exciting opportunity at your fingertips, some cash purchases could make sense in higher appreciation markets if you were looking for other options or to diversify.

As a new investor, your best bet is to start small with an app like DealMachine or Propstream so you have direct control of your options.

Would a home equity loan be a viable option in this situation, especially in regards to eliminating some of the red tape I'm running into with a refinancing an scorp-owned property?

If they do, your best bet is a local community bank that funds these types of properties.Another option is a private lender but that money will be pretty expensive, as mentioned 10%  + 

Quote from @Edgar Duarte: hi allI would love to get some perspective from your expertise, we have a property that we would have to sell in 2025 to avoid paying taxes on the capital gains, we believe we rcan sell it for $700K and get an equity of almost $500K after paying the mortgage balance, if we invest all of it option in index funds at 7% rate (standard com growth calculator), or in more rental properties as we are all here for, I can get the equity of around $900K.option B would be keep paying the house at 2.3% int rate while we have it in AirBnB and maybe sell it in 10 years for $900K, knowing that we would be paying taxes but it is not that bad still. or we can 1031 at that point?

Talk to house hackers because that would be a great way to start, but you are also advanced with money so you may find smarter options that act more like index funds (syndications).

I have considered turnkey properties as an option

I have an option in a 35 acre parcel that I am flipping to one of the major regionals here and its part of a 700 lot project the off sites are about 25 million.