There are two companies and split about 60/40 across them.1) My dad has been using his HELOC but it's a bit of a mess on accounting, so I'd like to get away from that. 

The key highlights of this slate of bills includesAdditional Excise Tax on STRCreation of a statewide STR registryStandardize safety requirements across the stateProtect the ability for local government to zone STR in accordance with their needsThis isn't the first attempt at statewide regulation, and its clear the bills as written would be operationally burdensome to put into place for the state (aka, expensive) and the problems they are trying to solve are not, in all, a result of STR in our communities but of bad tax laws already in existence.

Tax benefits with or without an LLC are effectively the same.The best protection starts with 1) ensuring your property is in good condition 2) following the law 3) having good insurance, possibly including an umbrella.  

Build a team of people to help; an agent who isn't trying to talk you into every opportunity and knows how to analyze a deal; a lender who offers you all the possibilities; an inspection company that can get things done quickly; finally a property management company that comes with good referrals.

I know NJ is tough on landlord laws but looks like in this case we may have actually some grounds to fight it.

The escrow company and attorney I work with have seen this exercised 1 time in 30 years. 

You can google "debt collection" or "debt buyers" to find companies who do this.In general, be prepared to collect pennies on each dollar of debt owed to you.

Does your company offer any HELOC products for primary residence/house being hacked property?

If you live in one of the units it would be nice to only pay for the other two units you're actually renting instead of $150 for all three.Yes, that new lead certification law is going to be chaos.

Any suggestions on insurance companies that specialize in Homeowner Insurance for investors that have a part-time vacation home that also serves as a rental property?