I self manage the property and take care of all the paperwork and communication with the tenants for the property. 

The various "departments" of L&I don't really communicate well with each other and it's nearly impossible to get a hold of inspectors, plan reviewers, supervisors, etc.

I do speak some basic Spanish and would be able to communicate with the tenants.

If one property is free and clear, your cash flow should be pretty good; same with the other if the $60K HELOC is all you owe on it.If there is other debt (eg credit card, not student loans), then why not take out a HELOC to pay that off (assuming it is at a higher interest rate and you are not still adding to that debt).You make a good point about paying a bunch of fees to basically just move money around for similar interest rates, I did not really think about it from that angle.The family member is not in a hurry to get his money back right now, but has communicated he wants it back within about a year to invest in his own properties so I'll likely have to come up with a plan to repay it all in that time-frame at the latest. 

You want someone that is on top of things and good at communicating.

Is there a desirable way communicate that in order to stand out from a sea of investors that have no regard for the property/neighborhood?

I recommend opening the line of communication with the title company and requesting that all three of you are CC'ed in email exchanges and so forth. 

That will affect rentals and I'm happy most of mine are in the first, and I have one that is now in the last group and hasn't paid for July and isn't communicating. 

Do not waste much more time, though, as far as communicating with the HA.

With Covid, evictions are tough/impossible, so having a good line of communication with your tenant is important.