In assessing the use of equity you must also understand that due to the opportunity value of cash buying cash flow with equity to create artificial cash flow is extremely expensive.

Sometimes saying HELOC on an investment property will confuse a bank....I know, this sounds ridiculous but trust me....just use Line of Credit and it will help put you in the right place. 

Would a substitution of trustee be the form to use, or an Assignment of Deed of Trust?

Though I total trust the answer from my lender and underwriter.Terry

You can also search Trusted Choice for a local agent.

Am I allowed to send them comps or do I just trust the process?

you can come back with "well that's what you get for trusting Zillow data" haha.

Transferring later into an anonymous trust can be beneficial for some investors. 

Was the house in a trust, did your grandmother have a will, or is this now in probate. 

I'm getting licensed to have the knowledge under my belt and kind of get my feet wet in real estate (part time), I'm an extremely motivated person, I've kind of had that entrepreneurial mind set since middle school.