I am thinking HELOC may be the best way to go but when I went to my banks WF and BOFA they made it seem like the process was going to be in line with a regular mortgage which I am hoping to avoid as its such a pain.

I am unaware anyone think the pain once containing lead if any will prevent people moving into.

I own a SFH about 10 blocks east from SJSU in downtown san jose.

In my opinion, there is just no excuse not to use tools that are free to you and friendly to your applicants.)Apartments.com does have this other listing two blocks away (I don’t know the area, so it may be less desirable than yours) becoming available on June 10: https://www.apartments.com/2-br-1-bath-house-2024-hill-avenue-middletown-oh/0wj61x3/ Unfortunately, it is bad competition: it’s a 2/1 SFR for $825/mo, allegedly “fully updated” inside.Incidental to the above apartments.com listing, I would contact the management company behind it to see if they could opine on your property, as @Bill Brandt suggested.

I have come up with the following options so far:-install shower with glass block window with tile surround and bath vent fan (no idea as to how waterproof this may be)-demo old tub, wall off window, install prefab tub/shower combo and bath vent fan -reframe window to be much smaller and higher on the wall, leave existing tub, install tile surround and plumbing for shower-leave as is and hope tenants don't care about not having a showerIn most of these cases it seems to really just boil down to whether I want to have a window that can be opened to alleviate wet room moisture, or install a vent fan. 

For a beginner, I think , that is a recipe for pain (at least initially). 

For furniture imprints, try ice cubes - that's what my wife tells me at least.Get an invoice for cleaning so you can deduct appropriate amounts from the deposit.Cleaning mini blinds - that can be a pain.

I never ever put drain cleaner down my drains.No, I don't snake between tenants, but I do run the water to check the faucets for drips and to make sure the drains are flowing like they should.I always fish the hair out of the tub and shower drains with a zip-it while I am in the house getting it ready to show.When a tenant calls me about a blocked drain, I will use a hose and bladder through the roof vent before I snake.

The area is mostly post-war ranches with some brick, some steel siding, some a sort of glazed concrete block I've not seen other places, and some stucco.

You definitely need a full team of boots on the ground because many of those areas are block by block.