They are monitoring what I do with the money, in the sense that they’re withholding a certain percentage of funds and requiring me to have inspections done, etc., as a way of ensuring that I put it towards a renovation and not just walk away with it.

I am curious what all the shady stuff these investors are doing to require such intricate setups.

Sounds like you are trying to do a Lease with Option to Purchase.This requires 3 separate documents:1) Lease2) Option Contract3) Purchase contract triggered when tenant enacts Option Contract.National statistics show that around 65% of Lease-Options fail.

Also don't forget that you can house hack a multifamily with 5% down, but buying a multifamily as an investment property requires 25% down.Good luck!

Creating uniform and basic minimum standards is going to be better than allowing local cities and municipalities to make all kinds of overlays.

Average cost where we are now is like $5000 for set up, and you may not need a full foundation depending on the manufacturer requirements and what the lender requires.

In my area designers are in the $120 to $200/hr range so if it adds value do it for sure but on small scale projects I really don't think you will get that much impact especially for a vanilla basic house flip.   

I have been interested in getting into short term rentals and after reading about the tax benefits my interest is peaked.Are there any basic rules of thumb on how to go about further researching if this is a good fit for me? 

Send the deals directly to the agents (who you can find by doing #1 above on earlier properties).They all have different buying criteria, different contingencies, different inspection practices and requirements, and different requirements for their purchases.

You just have to pass the basic inspection.Rentable amount is based on bedrooms and bathrooms do not matter for the rent amount.