Looking at a vacation rental that has a rental restriction of 30 days minimum.  

I have already served the the notice  to vacate through the county Sheriff's office.

However, there is a reduced sales tax due on the rental of commercial office, warehouse, self-storage, vacation rentals, etc.

This is going to be unpopular with the STR crowd but I would absolutely NOT invest in the traditional vacation markets today.If you're hell-bent on going the STR route, find a metro area that has lax or no regulations currently. 

I've read Avery Carl's book on short term rentals and have been researching vacation areas in Washington.

I became a member of Bigger Pockets when my husband and I were in process of buying our vacation home in 2020, planning to do short term rental when not in use, and ended up using it almost every weekend instead :) But it has been a great educational site for me, learning about real estate and short term rentals in particular, preparing for our future RE activities.

One minor exception to the comment: not advisable to lose Section 8 funding which could result both an immediate lose of further rents and/or a squatting/eviction scenario.Next:1) In terms of the late rent payment(s) - consider a 3-Day Notice to "Cure or Quit". 2) If step 1) ineffective, consider the lease type - in many states if month-to-month the lessor has the right to submit "30-Day Notice to Vacate" without cause. 3) If step 2) is ineffective, an Unlawful Detainer (aka Eviction) could be pursued.

.* you may even have all 4 tenants vacating short after purchase3.

Depending on the law where you are, you can give an MTM tenant as little as 30 days to vacate for any reason.

Additionally, they decided to take a vacation at a critical juncture - the week of closing, without notice or planning - rendering them unreachable and leaving me in a difficult position.This experience has led me to question whether I need to stick with an attorney in the state where I'm purchasing property.