The HELOC worries me a little bit because of the adjustable rate, but I like how I can control how much I take out.

I would recommend you talk to @Tim Swierczek about financing options, most people finance their first property under FHA which is fine however it may limit your ability to expand. 

I am not limiting myself to Washington, if there are good deals in other market areas I am willing to check those out!

Does the Grantee have control or does the owner?

I have owned my own pest control company for the past 8 years, but I have always had a desire to invest in real estate.

Hey @Paul Zackey and @Alex Cornwell,I have Limited experience, but I know a few contractors who do it (I cant personally reccomend) and a mortgage officer who is very familiar with them.

So after you're done rehabbing, if you transfer title back into your name, you'll have to wait an additional 6 months (unless you want to be limited by the purchase price as your value).

Then I thought : "I don't have full control of the process here [can't force people to respond to me, I do have some time constraints, etc] but there is one thing I can control: staying active on BP!"

In the Denver area the trend is for the larger municipalities ie Denver and Aurora to limit STR to primary residences or stays or 30 days or longer.

None of our properties are RV parks or Campgrounds though, so we are limited by code.It works out good for us.