In addition, our new home will have an attached in law suite in which I intend to rent out as well.

There is opportunity but also a lot of issues and risks.

After that I think you can go to court to appeal.If you house has a vacant house notice then the water dept is required by law to turn off the water and you should not have to pay for water.

The best cash flow is usually in D+ areas where the buy price to rent price looks great, but that comes with deferred maintenance and tenant issues a lot of the time.

@Ryan Brown, I am not an NYC landlord and know you are subject to different laws than I am in Ohio.But, typically, as long as their shower head is fully functional, I cannot see any reason why you would be required to replace it for them.  

What I'm getting from anyone that I ask is really a lot of opinions that aren't backed up by any rules, laws, etc. that actually give the agents/broker authority to do this.

There are some things that can cause issues with your upfront approval or end up causing a denial in or during underwriting that an unexperienced loan officer will not know or catch.One big thing to keep in mind is when you are buying more REI the guide lines require more assets and PITI reserves and a HELOC can "Never" act as an asset or PITI reserves.

Discuss your preferred methods and frequency of communication.Ensure they understand and comply with all relevant landlord-tenant laws.

Am I correct in my understanding that after the house is built and a CO is issued, we can work with a traditional bank/lender to get the new home appraised and take out a traditional mortgage on the home for XX amount (the amount owed to HELOC and hard money lender)? 

Managing multiple properties does come with its own set of challenges, like juggling different maintenance issues, taxes, and possibly even varying market conditions if they're not all in the same area.Here's where your financial goals come into play: Are you looking for a more hands-on investment with potentially higher cash flow from the get-go?