Central to my argument would be that making sweeping changes to the covenants themselves or changing how the covenants have been historically enforced only addresses the current problem indirectly. 

Remember, no system is perfect, so avoid the temptation of constantly chasing after the next shiny object.

Avoid lenders that want to escrow your payments at closing, this increases your cash to close drastically and, in my opinion, is not the best structure even for new investors.

 I bought my first house in 1987 and  5 years later I got a job transfer from Miami to Central Florida. 

Also, I think, general maintenance is centralized so 1 handyman could care for all units, which makes it easier to manage.

For years there was fear that creation of the tic right before a sale might be viewed as an attempt to artificially avoid taxes. 

Any tips on avoiding common mistakes?

They skip that property and send someone to verify and come back to it later after they know if they were paid or not to avoid a situation like may have happened in your case.

I converted my STR back in December to avoid the newly increased Hotel Occupancy Tax (9% monthly) and to cut out my STR PM (10%/monthly).

Having a conversation up front can help you avoid lost time and money in the long run.