To earn that hands-on learning offer to do some of the work that would be more tedious to that investor but can also help you learn in the process, such as drafting an offer letter, initial cleaning of the property, etc.When it comes time that you'll have the cash and debt (and credit rating) position for your own first investment, you'll also have a solid foundation of learning. 

Seriously, some people have poo problems or they use a half roll of toilet paper cleaning up.

Add a cleaning company to handle turnovers and you are off and running and pocketing the high priced PM fee.

Mostly surface cosmetic updates such as new trim, paint, and minor exterior cleaning/fixes.

Since you live in a HCOL area, I would also recommend reading David Greene's "Long-Distance Real Estate Investing."

People buy properties in non-drivable markets constantly, and in general this is what David Greene's book Long-Distance Real Estate Investing is about. 

Even if you are just cleaning or handling seemingly meaningless tasks you are going to get the connections you need to find a mentor and making money while doing it. 

I thought that a HELOC was the way to go as I am able to access the capital multiple times at any time, however, after listening to David Greene's Q&A, he said that a cash out refinance would be better.If I were to invest into commercial or multifamily real estate, a cash out refinance would be better, right?

Easy to self manage with Vrbo and Airbnb, then hire a cleaning service to handle turnovers.

My husband and I spent two weeks with two 30 yard dumpsters cleaning up the property.