Have been keeping an eye on a neighborhood I like very much, where properties rarely come on the market. It's adjoining a university but is solidly SFH of a wonderful vintage. In a casual hopeful browsing of recent listings (none for sale, of course), I did spy a rental, but on a university website for grad students looking for housing. Was intrigued and opened the link. Is being rented out on a room by room basis, targeted to university grad students. I looked up the ownership and it's owned by out of state owners, and surprisingly, it had sold last fall for a tidy sum.
I sent the link to the neighborhood president and said this doesn't seem legal. A few days later I got a response, they were not aware either and have notified the city, who confirmed it's not a legal situation and zoning caps house to just three unrelated people but house is also not registered with city as a rental either and to be registered as a rental it needs to meet certain requirements etc cetera. Housing inspectors are being deployed as we speak.
So... someone is getting into trouble, potentially expensive trouble. All because of me. Can't say I feel rosy about it. But for any wannabe investors out there, be really careful and know what you're getting into before you decide to invest in renting a house in a family neighborhood.