Rental Property Investor · Stewartsville, NJ · Member since 2016 · 419 posts · 280 votes
Hi All,
We are interested in potentially investing in real estate for a short-term rental/AirBnB in West Virginia. We are not familiar with the vacation areas, or short-term rental hot spots and would be interested in knowing which areas to consider, and which ones to stay away from (due to short-term regulation, or overpricing, etc).
My initial thoughts were areas around Morgantown, and near the ski slopes, but would love to hear other areas to consider.
We already have one short-term rental in North Carolina, and would like to purchase a 2nd one possibly in West Virginia.
You are on track with near the ski slopes such as Winterplace, Snowshoe and Canaan Valley. However, Snowshoe is the only one of those three which has good summer hiking and mountain biking.
Morgantown is great for 1 year lease rentals for students, but the short term rentals would be limited to football season and parents visiting their children at WVU. They do have a growing medical hospital which could cater to traveling nurses and doctors.
Huntington, WV and Charleston, WV are the areas which I am more familiar with because I own 10 units in Huntington/ Barboursville. With the hospitals in Huntington, I believe there is a need for short term rentals not only for traveling medical professionals but also for families with loved ones in the hospital. But, you have to know where to buy in the Huntington, WV are because, just like any city, they do have some bad areas which should be avoided and some of those bad areas are near the hospitals. Additionally, the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in downtown has events every week.
Charleston also has major hospitals which would follow the same principals as Huntington. Also, Charleston just completed a multi-million dollar renovation to the convention center. So, any apartment near the convention center could attract business short term renters year round.
Reach out to me with any questions, I would be happy to assist.
My two cents thoughts; my son went to West Virginia university. Morgantown appeared to be growing relatively well. So I will vote for that town and of course my love for college towns. I think the university towns are part of my go to strategy. Why because these institutions have been here for a 100 years and are likely to be still here and growing in another 100 years.
You are on track with near the ski slopes such as Winterplace, Snowshoe and Canaan Valley. However, Snowshoe is the only one of those three which has good summer hiking and mountain biking.
Morgantown is great for 1 year lease rentals for students, but the short term rentals would be limited to football season and parents visiting their children at WVU. They do have a growing medical hospital which could cater to traveling nurses and doctors.
Huntington, WV and Charleston, WV are the areas which I am more familiar with because I own 10 units in Huntington/ Barboursville. With the hospitals in Huntington, I believe there is a need for short term rentals not only for traveling medical professionals but also for families with loved ones in the hospital. But, you have to know where to buy in the Huntington, WV are because, just like any city, they do have some bad areas which should be avoided and some of those bad areas are near the hospitals. Additionally, the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in downtown has events every week.
Charleston also has major hospitals which would follow the same principals as Huntington. Also, Charleston just completed a multi-million dollar renovation to the convention center. So, any apartment near the convention center could attract business short term renters year round.
Reach out to me with any questions, I would be happy to assist.
- Morgantown - College town, there will always be a need for short term rentals but I would try to stay as close to the college campus as possible
- Fayetteville - White water rafting, Bridge Day, overall just a cool little town that is growing quite well
From a tourism point of view, it would be worth noting that WV, in general, is a seasonal destination and a large part of your business would be coming in during the summer months.
I’m in short-term rentals in Fayetteville and around Summersville Lake. Let me know if you have any specific questions—I’m happy to help!
Of course, I’m high on south-central WV right now. Tourism in general seems to be on the rise, even as whitewater rafting has been on the slow decline in the area. But people are coming in “just because” more often now than ever, and AirBnB has really revolutionized the exposure our area has in the bigger metro areas surrounding us.
Again—happy to answer any questions you might have!