A property in a quiet residential neighborhood may face noise complaints, neighborhood associations pushing for enforcement, and hosts being targeted by complaint driven regulations.

Quote from @Patrick Forelli: I'm looking to invest in a STR in savannah, but I'm confused with the regulations.

Missouri and Kansas also have landlord-friendly laws, with few rent control regulations or tenant protections relative to coastal cities.

To me, that says that -- no evidence to the contrary -- he rented out in violation of the town ordinance and (my take) now wants to whine that he got caught.AirBnB and other short term rentals (STR) need to be regulated because they impose externalities on neighbors and deprive local governments of revenue and -- depending on circumstances -- pose unfair competition on local hostelries.

They came with opinions from the BIG 8 accountants that the tax losses complied with IRS regulations.  

I'd love to utilize their expertise when assessing a property since they are local but I'm not sure what the general expectation is when I don't have a tangible property and I have not entered into contract to work with them yet.Some questions I have are: local regulations/permitting timeline, property's potential from their perspective, landscaping/amenities cost estimate (they also help facilitate this).

I do not live in California but you better look at all state laws and regulations - I know California is very strict and has lots of regulations that can be costly if you are not aware of them. 

ADRs are also compressing it seems from the data.Which cities are best to deal with when it comes to STR rules and regulations?

I've thought about it a bit, but the tax burden whenever I've looked here in The Netherlands has been pretty high comparatively speaking, and regulations are a bit tough to swallow as a potential landlord (even if I largely agree in principle with them). 

This does validate why thorough background screening is an absolute necessity.As the state of WA pushes out more restrictive regulations on housing it increases the risk to both tenants and providers.