As you mentioned, this could strengthen my credibility and certainty to close when moving on to larger deals.

My agent also mentioned resources that could be of assistance for that. 

I know nothing about that stuff but hear it mentioned all the time.

It's worth mentioning the STR regulations are relatively new, and I think some properties currently operating are basically grand-fathered with the old permit, and I don't know if being a new owner one'd be able to get a new permit if it's not in the designated location.

I started looking at the area about 8 years ago after my dad mentioned it.

Then when someone mentions it you call it a red heading and say it has has nothing to do with it. 

So, as previously mentioned, the rules can be changed at the developer's whim.

Assuming the ARV you mentioned is accurate, at 75% LTV you'd be able to pull enough equity to cover your existing payoff, refi costs and walk away with a good chunk of cash in your pocket.

As mentioned above this will catch up to you and bite you. 

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesWe recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.