Really about growing a strong portfolio of solid deals.Now that being said, if you are a high income earner, well qualified, and can't find reasonably good deals: (i) you can connect with a well connected real estate agent for off-market deals; (ii) you might do a very narrow cost-effective cold call or letter writing.

Are there any cost-effective ways to handle this situation legally?

Any podcast or blog recommendations for DMV STRs or general STRs?

To answer your question (that wasn’t actually aimed at me) my concerns are investing in an area that I’m completely new to and building an out of state team that will be effective. 

Surprisingly most zoning in the US didn't come into effect until the 1950's and most lots in developed areas were created before this.  

Although the percentage of the increase is large, the determinative factors are whether the resulting rent is so great as to shock the conscience of a reasonable person and was effected for the purpose of compelling the tenant to vacate."

You don’t need a judgement, but not sure how effective it would be:   https://www.rentrecoveryservic...

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesWe recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

I’m also making the property my primary residence to lower upfront costs, effectively turning it into a house hack.With this setup of me now occupying a room and not including utilities. 

Quote from @Frank Barletta: It is more cost-effective and practical to install a large-size TV and get the Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and Sega Mini consoles.It comes with games preloaded, legal, and each to swap in case something breaks.