One thing to keep in mind is the "fractured" nature of Western PA in general.

Mine has not flooded but I have 2 sump pits with 3 pumps, 2 of which are backed up by a natural gas powered generator with an automatic transfer switch and one pump which is a battery only. 

I naturally want to limit my liability.

I’m leaning towards HELOC as I anticipate drawing 50k chunks of money at a time but am concerned about rising interest rates and the variable nature of HELOC rates. 

They won't -- it's just human nature- What if section 8 rent is below market rent?

Don’t you have natural gas heat available Electric baseboard is really expensive and tenants know this .

(All security deposits by their very nature are refundable.) 

The “what” will come naturally with time.

This is true for most all rentals in the Midwest which aren't in like a total ghetto or something of that nature.

Naturally you should follow the strategy best suited for you.Since we are both in San Diego, maybe we can meet, have coffe or a meal and chat about our investment approaches, and if we run out of interesting topics on that, we tell each other the war and flight stories...