Does anyone know how it works and best practices?

Spike was as a result of Trump tariff on Canadian lumber dumping practices and Covid shutting down logging, lumber mills and trucking.  

For example, I have a potential client that has decent unit with a solid location but the decor/furnishings remind of a frat boy out of college meets IKEA/Amazon.A unit like this will suffer from poor design and the reviews will show as well which I do not want affecting my reputation or Super Host status.Do I just decline taking them on if they are not willing to work on it?

This has helped with avoiding College Parties as they don't even search for 3 nights so that has helped greatly. 

I'd love to connect with anyone who has experience in acquiring small multi-family properties (2-4 units), particularly in college towns.

Starting with a single-family rental (SFR) property is a practical approach.

We frequently hear investors chasing properties that meet the "1% rule" which in my opinion is a  flawed underwriting practice (have posted on that very subject a few times in these forums), but in order to achieve a 14% cap rate your Gross Operating Income must nearly meet 2% of the assets cost assuming your operating expense ratio is at 35% (which is very lean on operating expenses).

This is because the properties are cheap enough that landlords cash flow immediately, and they also get to enjoy the perks of having the college students around.

Are there any resources, legal advice, or best practices you would recommend for pushing back against overreaching regulations?

The central valley has potential (I went to college at CSU, Stanislaus).