I don't think its a bad idea to get your feet wet with this deal (as long as you are comfortable with everything). 

I am also thinking of doing the HELOC, use some of that for a down payment on a 3-4 unit and stay in my home.

Just touring the units will give you a good idea on how they treat the property and also gives you a chance to ask them if they like staying there or if there are any issues you should be aware of.

I did speak with my RE Lawyer who drew up the LLC and Operating Agreement and my CPA and both seemed to be comfortable with the approach e.g Solo 401k Trust Account owns 25% of the LLC. 

I agree with @Marie-therese Tai you really don’t want to force someone to stay just because of the lease.

In this case, I was able to piece together enough to get comfortable with the risk. 

Long story short, I was a mess for the majority of my 20s, then I got comfortable renting and going about my routine when I started to turn things around.

Good for taking the first step the next steps are saving as much as you can and learning the math so that you can evaluate various properties once you are comfortable with that you can get pre-approved and start seriously looking to buy.

In the beginning stay away from complexity-auctions, land contracts, FSBO etc.

I am very comfortable with the actual renovation, estimates and final results, that is what I do for a living.