You can invest in a good or bad two family in RI or Mass equally, but having a a 20 minute vs. 1 hour daily commute, or being able to see family multiple times a week vs once or twice a month can be pretty important.So I would say choose between those areas first, then when you're ready to start analyzing specific properties to see if you want to put offers in on any of them, there are a lot of resources here on Bigger Pockets for learning to analyze properties, such as the rental property buy and hold calculator.I don't do a lot of owner occupied purchases for myself at this point so the Conventional 97 is new to me also (and has only been around since Dec 2014) but it looks like there are many pages comparing it to FHA so I'd recommend just spending the time to research the differences a bit.You'd want to make sure that if you use a mortgage broker s/he is licensed in RI and Mass (if you still haven't decided between the two), and I'd say to make sure when you are comparing the two options that you consider all the monthly costs (e.g., including private mortgage insurance payments in addition to the regular monthly principal/interest payment) and that you consider all the up-front costs.

I found this FAQ helpful for research purposes on basic questions I had:https://www.trustetc.com/resources/education/faqs

For what purpose?

Investment in a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund is the closest comparable.  

Can anyone share with me their experience with taking HELOCs for the purpose of investing into long-term rentals or flips and any referrals/recommendations of good agents/companies with whom to work if you are pro-HELOC for this purpose?

This number must be lower than #7 or walk away.9 - Use above numbers to project what the maximum Purchase Price can be for a Rental and/or a Flip10 - Compare them to the actual numbers in the market you are analyzing. 

There are other comparable homes that are nearby, but they are not zoned multi-family.

So compare the $50 for three months, to $600/quarter in the city.

If i am sure that I will go the Rent strategy, I would spend a bit more to put in more durable finishes such as tile flooring potentially higher grade countertops and casework, etc, compared to flipping.

Find some comparable properties to index your rental against.