At a minimum,  you should understand what the current zoning is and what restrictions there are.As the post above mentioned reaching out or going in person to speak with the planning and zoning department will be very helpful. 

Yup City of Alexandria, not to be confused with Alexandria Fairfax County, is pretty much the only place you can STR in the metro are without restrictions.

I also advocate using the 95% LTV versus the more restrictive 96.5% FHA LTV.

Hard money lenders are much more like banks and come with many restrictions, requirements, due diligence, fees, etc.

@Jeet Sangha You need to sign a Deed Restriction for Owner-Occupancy.

Lending was another challenge, lending restrictions were starting to tighten up, and we had to get a bit creative with our lenders to get the financing we needed to close.

Its my understanding that SF has pretty tight Air BNB restrictions like you have to register and can only rent them a certain number of days a year?

Many now and for many years now have had restrictions on rentals. 

This is true, but can increase your chances of success by working with an experienced team.Financing Challenges: Unexpected rate hikes or tightening lending restrictions can complicate your plans. 

So we restricted local landlords who rent to families, and soon the town will experience the very real repercussion of no one wanting to rent to families and professionals.