They used to represent a great opportunity 6 years ago, but now too many restrictive regulations and too many competitors.

Every state and some local municipalities have their own laws and regulations regarding rentals.

How does this all fit into Dodd Frank regulations? 

They end up actually raising the prices of existing non-regulated apartments and properties, and have a very chilling effect on investor activity in the subject area.Of course, there are cases where some regulation is required for those nasty slum-lord types to prevent kicking out someone in the middle of winter into the deep, freshly-fallen snow, or if they won't fix the hot water for weeks at a time.But, IMO, the more government gets their sticky fingers involved in a legitimate business, the worse they make the situation; it is almost never improved.  

Happy to answer any questions you might have, but would be easier to do via phone call.Here are some recent threads about NOLA that may help:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/55/topics/738161-new-orleans-real-estatehttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/55/topics/730045-newbie-in-new-orleanshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/717124-investing-in-new-orleanshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/703254-current-new-orleans-metairie-la-housing-markethttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/55/topics/690855-new-member-soon-to-be-in-louisianahttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/683502-new-orleans-looking-for-something-specific-and-a-great-realtorhttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/669885-new-orleans-purchasing-advice-for-shotgun-doubleAs far as short term rentals go... we will have more info by tomorrow night as the City Council is set to vote on new rules and regulations tomorrow.

Less regulations.

I know In the past people have said to be careful with downtown and historic homes because all the regulations.

It’s certainly better than LTR for cash flow even with my conservative numbers, but not sure it’s worth the extra hassle and hands-on management.Here in Florida, I discovered that anything under 6 months falls under the Division of Hotels and is regulated as such, and from what I can tell, STR owners are largely non-complaint with these regs, lodging taxes, even registering with the state as a landlord! 

So many rules and regulations have been put in place in the last 5 years, and costs have skyrocketed.

When you start offering a preferred rate of return with a profit split, you could easily find that the regulators will claim you are offering securities so need to be registered or show that you are operating under a specific exemption. 3.