That can be hot water territory - so while it's a lot of paperwork to complete it's a necessary evil."

If STR were so " hot" I would have 10 of them. 

Some sites have data on specific locations because they are STR hot spots.

@Edison Reis the Eastern Panhandle near Berkeley Springs is hot right now with overflow from Northern Virginia. 

I am doing a total update rehab for myself in the same neighborhood , its not done yet , but the market in this area is hot and I told my wife we will move in whether its done or not , who knows how long it will last . 

never trust an old electric box is dead, this one was drywall mudded and painted over and still hot.

And the market here in Berkeley is very hot, so it makes me a bit confused when comparing this situation to people who talk of REI in lower costs and cooler markets, as I'm not sure how well the numbers translate.

Prices are / will continue to rise (especially in the hot season), so I’m gettin out there now!

Each municipality has different licensing and permitting requirements and "permitted work" can mean a wide spectrum of scopes from replacing a hot water heater to building an addition,  so it's difficult to group all improvements together in the same category. 

What is wrong with this website is the majority of people on this site have no idea how to evaluate risk.When you have 25 year old hot shots trying to brag about how easy real estate is only to see them go crying to mommy in five years when they are completely underwater and are like "oh me" - ask me how I know.