I know, a HUGE mistake but I am over it and moving forward while focusing on what I can control. 

Yes I have looked into the state-wide rent control legislation.

And there's no federal mechanism pressuring states to do something specific, like how if a state's drinking age is below 21 then that state will lose federal highway dollars (fun fact: there is ALSO no federal minimum drinking age applicable outside of federally controlled land, just some highway money that forced all the states to "voluntarily" set it at 21 on an individual basis, I believe Texas was the last holdout, possibly due to oil money). 

He will now have to wait until our transaction is complete and pay me for access, but now the church is knocking my door to purchase the property and control who their neighbors are.

If you were thinking of something with STR, and you aren't completely familiar with the business model, it may be worth it to purchase something that doesn't have an HOA (SFH, MFH) so that you have more direct control over the asset. 

Never mind that Hayward has rent control, and now the whole state has rent control, and you'll never get there. 

I have a triplex in one of those areas, but it's on the end of a quiet cul-de-sac surrounded by other good buildings.

You don't see much rent control in red states

 $2000 in legal costs later the owner of lot one settled and I got all the rent he collected on my storage units for 8 months of my ownership, and I got control of my units. 

Crowdfunding gives more control and transparency and may be easier to track how the individual properties are performing.