If there's anything worse than bidding wars, it's the Seattle Building and Permit department.

One of my STRs that has been an STR since 1999 did not get a permit.  

There are different types of lease options, and the sandwich lease is no longer permitted there. 

Examples include:- CAP's or limits on the number of vacation rental permits allowed.

If there is no active lease agreement, and again depending on state regulations, send them a notice to vacate.I do not ever permit smoking in my rentals, it is one of the most costly and time consuming tenant habit to mitigate.Feel free to connect - hope all goes well!

@Danny Van you can also attend Oakland REIA and MREI, both held monthly in Troy.Regarding what to do, first you'll need to call the City and get their rental application to fill out, pay the fee, submit and schedule the inspection.It's mostly a health & safety inspection: smoke detectors, a CO detector near furnace, handrails, GFCI's. etc.WARNING: Warren doesn't really like landlords, so they can be picky about previous work done without permits - even if it was done before you bought the property!

Has anybody been successful partnering with a GC to sign off on permits and have preferred subs available for trades? 

In the area of town I live and invest, there are already a lot of singles next to true duplex next to quads, so there is less scrutiny in general around it anyways.The things that I would primarily check is was the work permitted and approved as a separate dwelling unit.  

Was garage conversion permitted? 

They provide no real protection at all for the borrower/contractor relationship.So, if your house had some plumbing work that was done, and your contractor did not pull permits and they did not have the city inspect the work, then when you go to sell the house you will get caught and they will tell you that they need to open the walls to inspect the plumbing and then closing the walls and repainting are on you.The draw process is way too easy, I've learned that it is sooooo worth paying your personal inspector like $100 to do a deep inspection.