When we purchased the beach house we intended it to be a vacation home but when the pandemic shutdowns occurred it became more attractive to live there than at our other home in Portland. In Sept 2021 schools opened here and I returned to our Portland home with our high school daughter. My husband has continued to go back and forth because he prefers the beach, works from home and it is a short drive. We were planning to live at the beach another six months before selling so we can claim the 2 of 5 year rule but thought it is possible we could qualify as a "hardship" for one of the reasons I mentioned. But you are correct in assuming that it is a bit of a pretext, although I am not sure why that matters if we legally qualify? Another option is just my husband claim the 2 of 5 rule for $250K exclusion and leave me out of it since I am unable to live their full time home due to my daughter's schooling and work.
