Your credit score will take a hit with the heloc and banks will sometimes count the entire funds available as though it were all used when calculating dti for other deals.

Isn't that giving them too much credit for future prospects? 

Insurance companies are very unlikely as their risk profile has to be very very low. 

I’ve looked into furnishedfinder.com and they said there was quite a bit of demand in our area but I had concerns cause the resents I saw on there were pretty low—from $750-1200 per month.

I would suggest taking out what's called a home equity line of credit and use it to invest in more real estate but make sure that you have a mentor that has done at least 100 times what you are planning to do and follow a strategy that works for you.

That means that no matter what happens I can’t share with the owner the tenant credit report (according to the terms of my contract with my credit reporting service).  

I also have a partner with a full time job and great credit score as well, so maybe my best option would be to include him and have him apply for the mortgage.

unfortunately, with both rates and prices high, it is very, very difficult to cash flow, even in a low cost market.i understand that not everyone's personal / family situation permits them to house hack, but there's no better way to get started. 

In the Reno Tahoe area the multifamily properties are at all time low inventory and there are prices all over the place.

What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.?