Without knowing your situation or expectations I would suggest option 1 as, I believe, there's no penalty for early repayment if you change your mind and go the cash route and having a history of a HOL/HELOC with a lender in your area might open future REI doors for you as you get the hang of this. 

If you are thinking of going the tax evasion route of having them setup corps you may also want to know that a corporation is required to file a corporate return every year and their are $195 per month late filing penalties that will apply to missed or late returns. 

If you go that route, I'd suggest running both an outreach and a retargeting campaign, that way if new visitors bounce you can continue to remind them that they visited your site for a reason and that you're ready to help.

Is it best to just buy a new Electric furnace go with that route or installing gas?

While talking with the Wells Fargo rep, they mentioned that for security purposes, they don't recommend providing a person the account number and routing number.

Im still working thru the pros and cons of going the Airbnb/VRBO route, or completely emptying it and trying a 6 month lease unfurnished.

If there’s a way to have separate meters installed, I would go that route.

The fact the house can accommodate 12 people is going to be a big factor but if you want to go this route make sure you put cameras on site. 

@Tom Gimer if @Joshua Manning pared down his investor pool to people he had a prior relationship with and/or didn't try and go down the syndication route would an LLP be better than an LLC?

If you are going the route of pre-foreclosure or OREO{for example listed properties} then you already know the situation and should be trying to close on it, perhaps negotiating a lower price but certainly not trying to rid the agent from the process if they were there before the investor.