If it is less then you follow STR laws and licensing requirements. 

I have the capital for a down payment and holding costs for a year but am struggling to find a lender who does not require a first-position lien on the home (the seller does not wish to subordinate his lien position).It has occurred to me to seek a partner-investor who would profit share with me if I was responsible for renovations, as I’m an experienced and licensed Residential Contractor.

Many cities have implemented CAP's or maximum allowable licensable dwellings used as vacation rentals but some areas allow active STR permits can transfer to new owners upon sale.

Don't try to be smarter than the city and not pay the license fee else you won't even get through the court doors.

Out of courtesy and necessity to our investor clients we keep a handy investor focused lender cheat sheet categorized by mortgage specialities.

I'm a licensed Realtor who represented myself in this transaction and I negotiated a $15k seller concession I used for a 1-0 buy down so my rate for 1 year will be 5.99% and then revert to 6.99% for 30yrs. and then we used the rest of the concessions for closing costs. in 6 months or 12 months I will revisit to see if mortgage interest rates dropped significantly to justify a refinance to lock in a lower interest rateone more question.

In most states if your trying to help them stay in the house and are charging them a fee to help them then you need to be a licensed foreclosure consultant. 

Oh, and their employees are not licensed brokers, but earning 10% commissions!  

An agent, yours  and theirs, have the license at stake if they mess around with you.

We also provide a breakdown of any fees from third-party servicers if applicable.It's important to note that some of our loan officers hold real estate licenses.