Regulations & Compliance: What's the best way to research local STR laws and avoid potential regulatory issues?

These are being issued by local "nonprofits" who are mass emailing landlords pretending to be section 8 tenants.

There's a good chance the issue(s) you face has already been discussed and answered.Ask questions in the appropriate forum.

of course the sale of hurricane damaged houses also confuses the issue (my house had no such damage but is only about 4 blocks from houses that did).

Having a rock solid SOW can prevent many of the issues that arise during any project.

Are you aware of some actual legal authority that validates the IRS opinion on this issue?

I find that it's almost a one stop shop in that I can use it for my business checking and savings accounts, bookkeeping, for rent collection, I can issue virtual credit card, I can create all the financial reports I need to run my real estate business and prepare for tax filing and through their partners I can vet my tenants, develop state-specific leases and more.

Since Landlords are going to be monitored even more now with the price gouging issues surrounding the fires in LA, I would be extra cautious.

I do own two triplexes in Scranton, and I will say the one issue is that you are going to be taking care of the utilities normally if they are not on separate meters, which could take a good amount of money away from your overall cash flow. 

For instance, said property manager manages maintenance issues, problems that arise during bookings, basically anything that needs a physical person at the property, while I manage the rest?