For example, I mention that every adult must pay a $30 application fee, pass my credit/criminal background, make a combined income of 3x the rent, and whether or not the property accepts pets.

As other people have mentioned, does it increase risk of being rent controlled down the road?

We have decided, like you mentioned to advertise for LTR  and see how things go. 

This is a great read and references some of the points that other people in this thread have mentioned about building a team.

Hi Joe,Using a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) on your primary residence can be a practical and low-cost way to fund flips, especially since the terms you mentioned include only a $200 yearly fee.

As Bill mentioned, the best way to decide would be to get a free cost/benefit analysis to help you determine if you would benefit.

"jesse" who I will call him, The cell mate friend of that rotten GC I mentioned earlier.

However, as I mentioned in my original post, my immediate goal is to move out of our current townhouse into a larger single-family home that better suits my family’s needs (we have a baby and a big dog).

Yes, one approach is to continue with finding other cash flowing property.Let me suggest some other ideas for you to ponder, especially since you've also mentioned you are looking hard at DST's:What about Opportunity Zone funds? 

Hadn't heard Azibo mentioned before so I'll look into that.I'm purchasing with a bit of equity to start, plus I'll have put 25% down on purchase and am making a few upgrades.