Our Kansas City market is inundated with traditional wholesalers that have muddied the water.

Some on our business partners also operate traditional row crop farmland. 

It is usually a series a poor choices that get them to that point and it can't become your problem.

Furnaces break, water heaters, roofs, etc.As your question, as noted, every traditional lender will want to see stable income coming in to support the recurring mortgage/HELOC payments.  

Renting an SFH by the room can produce crazy good returns compared to traditional SFH rentals!

@Owen Hawbaker any traditional bank or mortgage company is unlikely to give you a 100% loan on your first rental property.

Cats like to play with mice until they've killed them, and then unless they are starving just leave it as is (given the choice a cat would eat a live animal versus a dead one any day).

Is a Heloc or 2nd mortgage a poor choice if I can get this property in shape by January/February? 

It wouldn't help you a ton to refinance into a traditional conventional loan, as you would reset your owner occupied clock, and would need to stay in the property another year (give or take) before you could secure a new owner occupied loan.

@Jamie GoldenbergIf you don't have enough capital for a traditional investor 20%-25% down payment and you will be living in the property; I would suggest a FHA loan with 3.5% down.