You want lower land cost with high rental demand unless you're a reno expert and flipper which not 1% of real investors are. 

But either way, it is a fairly substantial number of States and many of which have large population centers.

IMO, the best strategy for that type of individual is to purchase residential property in an area they are or can become familiar with; in an area where the neighborhood is “on the rise”, typically where demand exceeds supply and people are spending $$$ on fixing up properties.  

* Does it significantly affect rental demand, vacancy rates, or rents?

If you’re looking for steady rental demand and manageable property prices, it’s worth considering.Best of luck with your search!

@Luke Spencer I am not on the management side but I can tell you it took 2+ years to fill 300 units at one of our facilities and the other just hit 300 units in 12/13 months so it really depends on the demographics, and local housing market trend, the more people moving in and out the higher the demand for storage.I think if you're looking at a saturated market then the upfront cash to turn the warehouse into self storage is not a good idea but then again, maybe those operators are on back roads ( low visibility ) and don't push google ads well.

Subject to their whims and demands, contract or not.

Since the changes were made, demand for the product has roughly doubled.

If the case was substantial, I would imaging your lawyer could subpoena the officers to have them testify to what they witnessed. 

Pretty,  as others have stated here, the permitting process through the City of Cape Coral has been hindered by their ability to scale up their staff to handle the massive demands for all permitting including new construction but also anything else that requires a permit, home improvements, sea walls, alternative sea walls, pools and more.From your post, I can see that you are frustrated, and I believe some of that is due to not understanding the steps and processes of new construction, including what must be done prior to submitting permits.