The hotels and motels banded together and went to the town and demanded STR's have a permit just like them.

It was a 2 bedroom 1 bath single wide with a non permitted addition on 1 acre and needed about 15k in repairs.

Kaplan looked pretty thorough, but as a newcomer to real estate, I have no idea what to sign up for.  

The Act also prohibits housing providers from refusing residency to persons with disabilities, or, with some narrow exceptions, placing conditions on their residency, because those persons may require reasonable modifications or reasonable accommodations.With respect to reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications: * The Act makes it unlawful for any person to refuse “to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford . . . person(s) [with disabilities] equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.†* The Act makes it unlawful for any person to refuse “to permit, at the expense of the [disabled] person, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by such person if such modifications may be necessary to afford such person full enjoyment of the premises, except that, in the case of a rental, the landlord may where it is reasonable to do so condition permission for a modification on the renter agreeing to restore the interior of the premises to the condition that existed before the modification, reasonable wear and tear excepted.â€It is important for all real estate professionals to remember that the federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability.

Also, make certain zoning still permits that rental, and don't forget to factor in insurance.  

By the way, in my home state of TN, I think the government still "permits" (like they have the authority to tell me how to sell my own property), anyway they permit me to o-f sell 4 per year.

How many pets are permitted in your lease?

Also talk with the city it's located in, they can help you estimate your cost for permits and any entitlement fees that will be charged from a cities perspective.

A friend of mine swears that Ocala is a better place to invest, but since I'm new to the game I want something that is within a 5 mile radius of my house.And I just learned that Gainesville has a landlord permit system in the city where you can earn demerits if your tenants draw complaints from the neighbors.  

If they did not have contact information in their signature (it's not required to be there, but to be visible in the forums, that is the only permitted place for it), then you can check whether their profile has that contact info.