You can't jump ahead to the building permit until the ZP is issued. 

Poor management of contractors, permit delays, or running out of funds can extend the rehab timeline, costing you money.

and the permitting process might be cumbersome. but similar to the roof, get some quotes and do the math if you want.

Not to mention things like septic permits that used to take 6 to 8 weeks are coming back in 1 or 2. :-)I like it slow and steady. 

We hired another contractor (a church friend of a realtor that we'd used in the past and we trust this realtor 100%) and paid him $15,000 to start the same project and everything went great; he completed demolition, installed the new roof, and got some permits (roof permit, electrical, and plumbing).

It's definitely more common up there (Gilpin County where the regs say you can camp for 30 days with a camping permit and neighbors are typically less likely to complain/ code enforcement is less likely to notice and enforce).

If you could provide 1 piece of advise to a newcomer, what advise would you offer? 

The rule as I had read it was that if the property is intended to be rented out for more than 90 days, there is a requirement that there is a permit required.

The person will assist in some prop management but largely the GP will oversee/ manage most of the deal (design, permits, construction, leasing).

I also know the zoning/permits better than the appraiser on some of them because if they passed initial evaluation I looked up the zoning and permits.