Out of the three areas you mentioned, personally I would prefer Cincinnati in that list.

They typically have some of the best buyers lists. 

.- In San Francisco duplex near 101: was listed 700k now listed for 599k.

And then, when you're ready to sell, your buyer can't use FHA or VA financing unless your association is on "the list" of approved condos.This recent development just makes things so much worse!

We have found houses the traditional way - through the Multi Listing Service (MLS), through foreclosure auctions, off of craigslist (that really weren't scams!)

The town can't recommend engineers but they showed me the list of engineers who have completed projects in town and the company I hired made up ~80% of the list.

Even without the pause I have had listings there and have had homeowners post signs all around the property that were listed stating "This is not an area for STRs, go away."

I manage 17 listings in the area currently, and one in AZ.

Have a rental property in Texas listed with an agent, and they are giving me a lot of push back on including anything about the returns we get. 

Not all contractors have expeditors so you'd have to look into hiring a separate expeditor, designer, and the contractor or you can find a different design and construction which typically have one-stop shops.