This will be available in draws and refunded to you from escrow as you complete each milestone. 

You are right that the HELOC is the tricky spot, although since it has an upper cap on the withdrawal amount, I think that it is simply treated as if the maximum amount has been withdrawn, because it is possible that the sellers may continue to draw against it during the payoff period.  

If the lease is for a year, you'll either have to bite the bullet and wait for it to run it's course or offer them a buyout in hopes to draw them away from the property. 

Do construction draws - do NOT give all the rehab money at the closing table unless it is less than $10K.

A good sign could be that despite the spike and subsequent drop in percent sold in 2016, the numbers appear to have stabilized.

But you can draw a 3% growth line from 2000 prices to today's 2019 prices. 

For my draws, they drive by, take pictures, and release the next day.

If Austin doesn't go full left-wing-permissive-seattle-style and ensures those services have conditions and boundaries, so that they don't get the "Freeattle" reputation then the shelter won't draw an outsized proportion of people from all over who just want handouts,  instead it will be more likely to draw people from Austin actually looking to turn things around.   

I'm looking to get into the property on Friday with the property manager and the inspector, and wind up with a full list of what needs to be done on the house as well as what I can do to bring up rent.By the end of the month, I'll close on the house and give notice to the tenants of the updates I'll be making and the subsequent rent increase.

Also make sure you have a good real estate attorney to draw up the contracts and protect your interests.If you do all of this, you will have a successful partnership.