Short Term Rentals / executive rentals in Fairfax County, VA

[Brian Harker]

My wife and I are going to be moving out of our home in Reston, VA. We don't intend to sell, but we're trying to figure out how to make the most out of our home as an asset. Doing a traditional rental will allow us to just about break even (but not after paying a property manager), so we've been considering it for short term rentals. Upon further investigation, it looks like Fairfax county is really trying to make it difficult to do STR as a legitimate for-profit venture. The regulations say that it has to be rented out by the full time resident, and you can only rent it for 60 nights in a calendar year, which pretty well sinks the prospect altogether in my book, but I'm wondering if there are any creative entrepreneurs out there doing STR successfully in Fairfax county as an investment strategy and not just a side hustle in their primary residence. There are lots of properties in the county listed on Air BnB and VRBO. If so, how are you doing it?