Not that I'm going to sacrifice my own criteria altogether just to add a property to my portfolio...but I am wondering if this is a time to relax my criteria ever-so-slightly to take advantage of low rates and my own concern about potential / eventual inflation. 

You can also look at lots which allow modulars and manufactured homes, as these are pretty relaxed in terms of STR's.

It appears to me like some of the people flexing their investing muscles and talking big game may not be profiting anymore then the mom and pop operators that are consistently buying single-family housing.

Therefore sometimes I’m relaxing while others are working and working my others are relaxing.;)

I have been successful in owner finance in the past and quite frankly I relaxed my requirement when someone I trusted vouched for a relative.     

In less dense areas, people tend to be more relaxed and it's easier to get a conversation going.

Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia, Florence, and Sheffield have yet to feel the full effects of the Huntsville development.

I was still fairly new to the game as this was only my second investment property, but I felt more relaxed this time around.

Make sure the county you are looking in has some relaxed rules, and no zoning.

St.Goerge is really picky in where you can have them, but outside areas like Washington and Ivins are more relaxed.