All Forum Posts by: Anthony Fanucci

@Russell Brazil Thanks for this tip. I dug in a bit based on your recommendation. It looks like Fairfax County is still strict with short term rentals: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/...

Alexandria seems to be a much friendlier place for short term rentals and (soon) ADUs. They have an agreement with Airbnb to reduce tax reporting obligations for the landlord. Also, I wanted to share a helpful presentation for Alexandria's approval of ADUs 

@Cassidy Burns @Ben Guttman @Russell Brazil @Trevor Imlay @Joseph Ayoub

Thank you all for the guidance you've provided. My wife and I have narrowed our focus a bit thanks to you all (and others that have commented). Our focus will not be to create an official ADU, but rather to rent a basement apartment in the house we purchase. We are finding plenty of homes that would either accommodate a basement apartment or already have one ready to rock. We will still make sure to find one with a separate entrance.

Our focus area is now tighter as well. We are looking at Falls Church, Alexandria, Fairfax, and northern parts of Springfield (focusing within the beltway). These locations are not only good for my commute, but attractive to renters. Plus, if we opt to focus on Airbnb instead of renting initially, the commute into DC will likely be attractive. Most of the homes we are interested in are listed between $575K-$675K. 

If anyone else has house hacking suggestions or major lessons learned, please do share. Your comments help tremendously. 

@Trevor Imlay Thanks for your post. Quick newbie question: we are definitely interested in a basement rental option, but what constitutes the difference between a basement rental and an ADU? Where is the line between the two? Do you cross the line once you start block the basement from your main home and such? Curious to hear your input or info from any others!

I am so thankful for this input. Ok, ADU restrictions seem to be the focal point here. My two questions/interests now pertain to:

(1) How do you "beat" ADU restrictions? (legally of course)... In other words, if we are interested in creating a basement unit (one possibility we are pursuing), what's the best way to treat it as a separate rental to maintain privacy, but avoid breaking any ADU restrictions?

(2) If anyone is familiar with towns in Northern VA that don't have ADU restrictions, please add that info! A few have done so already and it helps a ton. The towns I mentioned were some examples, but we aren't closing any doors. Reston, Sterling, Herndon, DC, etc. etc.... Are any of the northern VA towns favorable for our house hacking idea?

Edit: Alexandria, VA is looking promising since they are revising the ADU policy, but the update does say "Prohibit the exclusive use of an ADU as a short-term rental.": https://www.alexandriava.gov/p...

Thank you all once again! 

@Andrew Spell @Joaquin Camarasa @Joseph Ayoub @Ika Sargeant @Russell Brazil @Danny Lambert

Hi there! I am new to the BP community and wanted to dive in. 

My family and I are relocating to northern VA this summer. I'll be working in DC. We were going to rent since the housing market is a bit intimidating, but now we are interested in house hacking. Since we are a small family, the goal would be to maximize privacy and offset our mortgage. We are not concerned with cash flow or covering the whole mortgage at this time. This is our first step into real estate investing but we have big plans.

We are looking for insight and connections regarding northern VA towns such as Falls Church, Alexandria, Fairfax, Reston, Vienna, etc. We are moving from Pennsylvania so we are not readily familiar with the strongest locations for rentals. We understand that things such as metro proximity will boost our chances of securing renters.

Here's a snapshot of our situation:

• Moving summer 2021
• Approved for a conventional loan up to $700K @ 3.1% (the highest we are interested in going)
• Looking for detached living suites, in-law suites, or "separated" basements (once again, privacy is major for us)
• Ideal rental income would be at least $1K (obviously property dependent) 
• Currently focusing on single family homes
• Looking for "hot" rental areas that will still enable us to have a home with things such as a yard

I'll pause there. Our foundation for house hacking is getting stronger, but any input from the BP would be tremendously appreciated. We are hoping to start small and grow over the next 15-30 years in terms of real estate investing. 

With gratitude, 

Anthony