Investing in WV; Just curious for any of you national investors on here, why or why not buy in West Virginia?
(Charleston, Huntington, Morgantown areas)
[{"id": "gfev6ts", "text": "I do some stuff a little further east towards the berkeley springs area. Pros: cheap as hell, no zoning. Cons: light population, light traffic. Cant speak to anything west of there really but the no zoning thing is a huge win if that applies to your area.", "replies": [{"id": "gfew2ov", "text": "No zoning? So an industrial building, office, single family home, and strip club could all be right next to each other?", "replies": [{"id": "gfeyivr", "text": "Places like this are really interesting. Houston is well known for that", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "gfeykqn", "text": "While this kind of thing would be both physically possible and legally permissible they would not be financially feasible.", "replies": [{"id": "gfg0219", "text": "why not? The workers at the office and industrial building can walk over to the strip club and then at the end of the night the stripped can go to her SFH next door. While it may not be financially in some places, throwing a blanket statement saying it\u2019d never be financially feasible isn\u2019t correct either", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "gfezira", "text": "Sure can! You could even throw a gas station, a data center, and a head shop on it to really round out the nauxious use park. Only question becomes if the locals will approve it but from a zoning perspective you're golden.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "gfey9qp", "text": "Only thing I would add is that the timber rights are a far larger part of the pie out there. Any potential investor should make sure they are knowledgeable on land and resource rights.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gfexgem", "text": "I haven't invested there yet but I did look into it. My main problem with the state was tiny population centers. And worse their has never really been steady population growth in the state over the last century. Seems like absolutely minimal growth potential. At least from the single or multifamily side for sure.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gfez5w6", "text": "Sounds like it is pretty similar to rural parts of Oklahoma or Louisiana. I have always wanted to pick up a dialysis center in one of those \"gotta go to town\" places. 100k people and all the rural population from miles around comes there for clothes, healthcare, etc. Any idea what the health demographics look like?", "replies": [{"id": "gffsk3w", "text": "CDC or NIH can provide. I do know huge opiod and overdose issues. Not sure if the retiree population is growing", "replies": [{"id": "gfg2qk0", "text": "Easy to retire when there aren\u2019t any jobs", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gfiklkp", "text": "I\u2019m not sure why you wouldn\u2019t consider Berkeley County. It\u2019s the fastest growing county and close enough to commute to DC (MARC train goes right in) and the county does not have zoning restrictions. You might also want to look into Jefferson County.  I\u2019m not an expert, but I live close by in Maryland and I can\u2019t see any other place is WV growing faster (not even close) all due to the proximity of DC and the urban sprawl.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gfj2xl7", "text": "WV still has the worst road system in the east. I'd look at the I-48 corridor. That corridor is being bisected by major data cables that will provide a basis for data centers and other modern development. The 2nd area for development is the corridor from Clarksburg to Morgantown. WV has a surplus of water and land that is simply not easily accessible because of low quality roads. They are building new highways. Find out those locations and invest in those corridors.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gfjgscv", "text": "Probably more pandemic downturn resistant. At least retail. Minimal mandated closures have occurred and a lot of people around here still don't wear a mask. There is flagrant ongoing violation by some bars. Source:Broker living at the WV border.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gfrgj75", "text": "One thing I can speak to is that your title and escrow fees will be higher in WV than in say Virginia. WV requires licensed attorneys to verify title, so searching a property could cost $4,000 or even up to $10,000 depending on the difficulty of the chain and if they find severed mineral rights. Sometimes the fees are even higher than the premium on a title policy. This could cause sticker shock for investors in properties in the low millions.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]