I currently have 9 doors and 2 more pending. 

The seller said they didn't want to post 90 day notice yet, which I guess wouldn't matter since it's retroactive to pending posts.

I know what I am finding are worthwhile properties since within a week 80% or more of the identified  homes are CLSD or PEND.  

You can always offer less if it doesn’t go pending in a week. 

To reduce your appraisal risk at the refinance stage (into conventional or FHA) you can review comps ahead of time (active, pending, sold's) and you can pad your numbers to ensure your runway is cleared while you take on this new project.Some of my best BRRRR deals were done with HML or hard money/fix flip money to win the deal.

It is unclear what the city will do with the pending STR applicatoins.I will continue to post updates as I become aware of them!

You’ll see how fast or slow they go pending.

We average about 6 days on the market before a property goes to pending, and that is mostly because the Agent is sifting through all the offers to present to the Seller, who usually takes the first weekend to decide.Our rental market is just as hot. 

I am a licensed Realtor, so I also checked our MLS and found all of the properties I checked were either sold or pending a sale.

Regarding Zillow, you might be surprised how many properties are not accurate i.e. have already sold or are pending sale, so those may not even be options.If you are a serious buyer, call your Realtor and have a discussion again about your timeline and funding to refresh your position in their priority list.