They would be willing to open a HELOC for me to help fund BRRRR.

You could always offer a shorter lease that ends in May/June to give yourself an opportunity to find new tenants or raise the rent to market at that time.I hope this helps and if you ever need any guidance or want to chat about the process of assuming an existing loan, I would love to connect! 

When investing with a partner, you’ll each claim 50% of the depreciation and share expenses (like repairs and interest) equally, helping reduce your taxable income.

Same thing .. you can manage his properties but a Realtor's License will help you greatly .. a property manager can handle other peoples properties with a management agreement.

I also help clients throughout ND and MN.

You may have neighbors willing to help now and then, but it's unlikely you'll find a neighbor willing to do this all the time, every time, for years.In my experience, most landlords lose far more money through self-management than they would by hiring a professional, even when they live close to the rental.

Or a loan officer who can help get this done?

It doesn't bring the annual gross income which is huge in helping someone to decide if the deal is worth it.

If you have specific questions about property management, I'll be happy to help!

Doing so will help others to not make the same mistakes and disarm scammers in certain cases.