The Father applicant responded by offering 6 months of rent upfront (even the entire year) and is willing to provide 3 months rent of refundable security deposit for the additional dog risk.

I saw a lot of potential even though there was much deferred maintenance, poor mgt. and significant water damage in one unit requiring complete rehab.

But as @Charles Carillo said, even with family an attorney is going to be the best for drafting something like this.

Yes you can get a HELOC on your primary residence even if its 2-4 units it depends on the bank.Try a local credit union because some banks or CU's will only do them 1-2 units, but there are ones that open HELOC's for 3-4 units too like BECU.org.

I lived in the Metro Detroit area from 2017-2022.If you want some resources, or even to chat, I'm happy to send some your way.

After many attempts to explain this to Shellpoint they finally have readjusted the escrow payment to an even larger than initial amount.  

Up until the trustee sale (foreclosure auction), the home is still owned and fully controlled by the home owner.I’m assuming you’re going to be looking at off-market properties (since loan status isn’t something they advertise on the MLS so you likely wouldn’t even know if it was in default if it’s a listed property).So, in that case, you’d just negotiate a purchase agreement with the home owner and then take the contract to your local escrow/title company to open escrow. 

5) Consider meeting with a few agents in your area even if you are just getting started!

This is part of the reason why markets have remained so strong even with the interest rates set higher. 

I feel so lost that even hiring a VA to help with all of our tasks and such feels like another mountain!