Needs to be in a rental area because no homeowner neighborhood would like to have tons of renters going in and out of a property.

A few things in response to what you wrote:1. 

My name is Jewett Richardson, and I’m a recent college graduate with a degree in Construction Management.

She lives in MA.  

This should be written in the lease and discussed prior to occupancy.

In the end I was forced into the HELOC.

However, if you know and have a relationship with the person/team that will be doing the rehab for you in your absence and trust they have your vision in mind then you are in a better place to start. 

Yes I'm fully aware of the lead based paint addendum and its use as I mentioned in my post.

I would have saved few thousand dollars in inspection fees and appraisal fees if I had known that and I had a friend send me detailed videos.I'm not sure if this information is available in all counties but where I bought in the Indianapolis metro area, I can look up property tax records.

I work with several investors in the area. and a deal for one will be different depending on what you are looking for.