Ask for the zoning department.

I was a guest at STRs for years, a quiet, early departing after tidying up guest and never got any sort of follow up after the check out thank you, no incentive to return.  

Ideally they did not pay over retail because if they did they could easily lose the money they put into the property if the loan gets called.  

I own a commercial retail property and am looking to refinance it.

there is tremendous demand for inventory by both investors and retail buyers which is making it tough for the casual investor to succeed.it's great that you're thinking about getting your financing in order. 

there was a group of 8 of us that pooled money in a Cabal myself and one other were the main money guys the others put in smaller amounts and when we won one.. we would divy up interest prorata to the amount contributed.. this kept those guys from competing against us and for sure we bid up newbies .. really the only ones that would beat us were those that wanted to live in the house and would just go almost all the way to retail or above .. or someone bidding on a second thinking it was a first and no one is going to help you if you dont know what your doing.. this is a very caveat emptar bizz.

Off market deals I say are not really the bread and butter of most retail agents. 

I have been investing in Columbus since 2017, and I have a diverse portfolio that includes residential, warehouse, retail, and office rentals.

You could also call the city's code enforcement department and ask them their regulations on short term rentals. 

Quote from @Basit Siddiqi: I personally would not buy real estate with a retirement account.There are just too many headaches that are not worth the potential increased return.Some headaches when it comes to investing in real estate with a retirement account1) LTV values are less and harder to find lenders.2) Potential to sell or partially distibute the property if you have to do a RMD(Required Minimum Distribution)3) If you run out of cash and have to make a major repair, you may be out of luck and have to sell.4) Having to potentially worry about UBTI(Unrelated Business Taxable Income)I would personally invest in stocks/bonds/notes with a retirement account.I buy deals with cash and use a ROTH SDIRA so there are no RMD's.I buy at huge discounts to retail.