Nontheless, I ensured the place was livable and fixed major issues such as better ventilation, garbage disposal, balanced the patio deck, fixed the shower head in the bigger bedroom, and others.- Two tenants currently aren’t getting along.

I've owned and managed my own rentals for a little over 13 years now and dishwasher troubles pop up from time to time but in my experience, the most frequent issues arise from garbage disposals and tenants being too rough on them.

As I am military, I know I have one advantage that some others do not, with that being the VA Home loan at my disposal, and if you are familiar with how the military works I can get BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing, the military pays you to find a place to live and the rate they pay depends on the zip code you are in as well as your rank).

If you have enough disposable income from your jobs to offset HELOC interest payments, that could help mitigate risk.

In Connecticut, landlords are legally required to store the items and follow specific steps for disposal, which can add time and cost.

I'm not sure about the jurisdiction where your rental is located, but in the area that I manage no judge would evict for the leaves not being disposed of as per the lease. 

If you dispose of property in an installment sale, you report part of your gain when you receive each installment payment."

A full page on security deposit charges for disposing of furniture.

Second-- If you are going to focus on S8, realize you aren't dealing with tenants who have a lot of extra disposable income. 

I am not quite in that boat of disposable income that I could stomach losing, but I have determined a reasonable strategy of maybe going in 1k at a time on a 3-6 month journey to 10x 5 to 10 transactions.