I have heard some areas have zoning regulations about the number of unrelated people in one house, but I am having a hard time finding information for Sacramento county.

States definitely have different laws and regulations for loans and licensing. 

Here’s a link to the IRS regulations around bonus depreciation.Would an example be helpful?

I will say that in TX our property insurance rates are crazy high because we basically don't regulate them . . . kinda like our electric companies.

Main questions are about zoning and land-use regulations.

Many conventional shops have haulted them or priced themselves out of cash out refis because of new regulations requiring them to keep their investment property volume at 7% or below. 

Appreciation - The location must be appreciating at or above the inflation rate.Investor friendly - The cost of doing business and local regulations and taxes must favor investors.I will explore each of the three criteria below but first, a comment on selecting properties based on ROI.ROI is Only a Snapshot in TimeIf you anticipate holding the property for many years, what is happening long-term is more important than what is happening today.

Well worth it for dealing with the regulators. 

Find out if there are any laws or regulations that impact the legal fees. 

The end result of all these obstacles and regulations will be consolidation and regulatory capture by the very big players that have enough money and direct political influence to work around this nonsense and stay profitable.