I have a good credit score (770+) and the only debt I hold is our mortgage and a vehicle.

Our firm has been getting involved with some tax attorney's out of Boston that are involved with it and I think we're going to see some pop up over the next few months.You're spot on on with the mechanism for funding the partnership, generally a limited partnership or Corporation is used for the entity vehicle (it doesn't have to be real estate it can be a non-real estate business also).

The HELOC is not a good vehicle to hold debt over the long haul, but is perfect for having the flexibility to pull the cash when the right deal comes up. 

I believe in Indy as a great rental market but I just use a different investment vehicle (SFRs).

No.When you take into account the fact that General Motors and Ford BOTH turned a profit last quarter for the first time in a long time, you begin to see that the real estate market in this area is not as it seems on the surface.So as I discussed in a prior post, I seriously recommend that you add some “buy and hold” to your mix.

THIS  tenant has payments of $1442 every month--credit cards and vehicles.

Markets where $60K can get you into either a turn-key cash flowing property, or with some leg work and networking you can find properties that need work and then flip/BRRRR.My thinking with starting with turn-key is immediate cash flow and using that first property as a vehicle to begin building a team in the market which will make finding, fixing and renting below-market properties easier.

More millionaires have been created through real estate than any other investment vehicle in the world.

If they can't afford vehicle registration or tires, the owner may be trying to get out from under the "clean-up" of a property that has been mismanaged.

We have used the money that stacked up from our rent to pay off some old credit cards, pay off vehicles, install a coin op laundry room (highly reccommended)  It has really been the key to us moving forward financially.