Real Estate Agent · Beckley, WV · Member since 2018 · 51 posts · 42 votes
I’ve been on this site for about 4 months now. I have yet to find a local West Virginia Forum where they’re actively engaged in conversation. I would love to connect with investors who are interested in West Virginia. Is there a reason why there is no traction here ? Would it be better to look elsewhere ? I’ve lived here all my life and I feel like it has opportunity but when out of state investors run numbers on places here it scares them. Please explain the logic that investors have when it comes to rural places like West Virginia. Things like population , which WV has been on at least a 1% decline every year for the past 7 years I’m sure has something to do with it. Are there any other factors that would effect this ?
Appraiser · Durham, NC · Member since 2013 · 48 posts · 20 votes
8y
@Anthony Hosea Hey man, I moved from Beckley about 3 years ago to Durham NC. I have been on and off here for a few years. There has never been a lot going on with WV activity. I dont know anywhere else to look. There is a WV Landlord Association but most stuff they do is offline. I think they are based out of Charelston.
The decline in population you mention is a big one. Also, there are very few property management companies and they charge more. The Beckley area properties don't really increase in value and neither do rents. Days on market in the area are 3-6 months with few investors and thats a factor too. Where I live now most stuff is 30 days or less a so the properties are a lot faster/easier to get out of when the investor is ready to move on.
The only stuff I see out of state guys doing are things like Condos at Winterplace or maybe a cabin in Fayetteville or other similar type stuff. These are all, for the most part Air BB rentals.
With all that said, you can find some great deals in the area. All of my properties rent for a least 2% of their value. It took me about 5-6 years to get everything in place to make it work. JJM is the company that manages everything for me. John Smith is my account on Kanawha St. He is also a real estate investor. Hire him as your accountant and you have at least one good source in the area. He is a very smart guy.
Real Estate Investor · Beckley, WV · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 1 vote
8y
You've convinced me that I need to think about it some more...I have several ideas and it will take some time and planning (and I will also need some help with this). My goal will be to get a organization planning meeting sometime in early/mid September at a location in the Beckley area.
Real Estate Investor · Beckley, WV · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 1 vote
8y
I've scheduled a room at the Raleigh County library on Kanawha Street at 6pm Tuesday Sept 11th for a Beckley REI Interest Meeting. The place I used to live had a great REI group, and that is something I have missed since I moved back to Beckley. The first meeting will just be an interest meeting to get everyone's ideas on how they would like to see this grow and to see how many people are interested. My goal is for all types of investors, money lenders, vendors, realtors, lawyers to have a place to network, learn about specific topics related to real estate, and work together to improve our community (it is good for our pockets when you invest in a place where the community is doing well). Yes, you may be surrounded by your competitors, but you will also be surrounded by people who can provide opportunities too. It is not my intention to form a group that will spend the whole time griping about the city/county, but I am also not against lobbying in favor of the benefits of investors (without us, there would be many people who would have no place to live). I hope to see you there!
I wanted to bump this post and see how the current WV market is and if there are any active buyers/investors in the beckley area. I am an investor with 2 properties I am looking to sell asap!
Contractor · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2021 · 82 posts · 35 votes
3y
@Bradley Letts any luck? and @Anthony Hosea so five years later where are you at? I picked up a flip property in Bolt, WV 20 minutes west of beckley. I really just want to offload it for $35k but can't find any local investors. Funny thing is that realtors say they can sell a 3/2 home all day for $150-200k in current market but no investor flippers around to scoop mine up so I'm now looking for contractors - which I know that's really hard in Beckley from what I hear. So, about to do it myself and roll the dice that my time is worth it. I didn't know if you ended up doing flips during the 2020-to present time period. From all the towns I've been in I can't say any part of WV seems really hot. Even White Sulpher Springs to do an Air bnb there homes prices are still rather low for such a high value/golfing resort area. From my conclusion in past 6 months it seems a really good location airbnb can make a lot of money for vacation but rentals and flips are on the fence unless it's a prime prime PRIME area.