WV Property-Search thread:

[tallen702]

Originally Posted by 2ndatrades

Thank you for the information. I have been dreaming of buying land in a bordering state for years now. Trying to convince a buddy to go 50/50 on something for camping/shooting.

If you do go that route (and many people do), make sure to draw up a legal contract to determine what happens if someone wants out or can't pay. Things like making sure you get the right of first refusal for their half should they want to sell or bow out, how to go about finding another partner should they not be able to pay, how to handle a potential bankruptcy, etc. are all important when going in on a property with someone else. Most of the multi-party land ownerships that I've seen are set up as LLCs or LLPs to protect all investors should things go sideways.

[budman93]

Originally Posted by tallen702

Are you thinking of the Eastern Panhandle? I see you're in Frederick and am assuming you'd still work in MD but live in WV?

I work from home so i just need internet. My wife would probably move from working at the hospital in rockville and go to one close by hopefully. But yes we are thinking about the eastern areas near MD.

[Sampson]

Originally Posted by tallen702

No problem. If you're near retirement age and looking to retire, PA has WV currently beat on income tax for retirement accounts and pensions (not taxed in PA, taxed in WV, but nothing horrible). The thing to compare between the two is the true cost of living. Many areas of PA have massive township taxes that most folks don't realize are pretty high until they buy. My in-laws found this out. They are from NJ and wanted to move back to that region, but with NJ taxes being what they are, and MD taxing pensions/retirement income, they decided to buy outside of Philly in Thorndale Twp, PA. Turns out that they could have actually bought here (closer to their daughter but still within a 4hr drive of their family in NJ) for less overall given the township tax situation.

That said, WV is exploring ways to get rid of personal income tax completely. The makeup in revenue would come from an increase of 1.5% for sales tax (would become 7.5%, just a penny-and-a-half more than current per dollar) a tax on tobacco products, and sodas (which West Virginians tend to drink a lot of). So, if you're not of retirement age, have a job that can be done remotely or a job lined up in WV, and this effort passes (which I think it will), it'd win out in my mind. But I'm biased having grown up there.



I take a group of nearly 60 high school kids to the poorest counties in WV every year ostensibly to do home repairs through Appalachia Service Project. The reality is, I'm taking a bunch of fairly privileged kids to what is basically their backyard and showing them what the real world looks like. Yes, we make the homes of those we serve warmer, safer, and drier, but more importantly, we show the kids we take some pretty important life lessons. The one thing that I consistently hear every year we got from kids who are experiencing the region, people and culture for the first time is how they're amazed at how happy the people are even though they have so little in terms of wealth. Usually, it's by the time we've visited one of the many beautiful wild rivers in the region, or taken some time to see a sunset from a mountain top that they begin to realize why. Usually, the first day or two they're turned off a bit by how some towns are so run down, but by Saturday morning, they're upset they have to leave and want to come back as soon as possible.

If you've never been there, it truly is a beautiful place:

Good for you taking the kids to experience life outside of their elements and help others. I've done that with my church. It is amazing what they can do when they are allowed to and prompted a little.

WV is a wonderland of natural beauty and adventure. Full of good people, maybe not rich in money but many other ways. I have plenty of relatives west of Clarksburg, mainly Doddridge Co.

[tallen702]

Originally Posted by budman93

I work from home so i just need internet. My wife would probably move from working at the hospital in rockville and go to one close by hopefully. But yes we are thinking about the eastern areas near MD.

There are plenty of options for her in WV as far as hospitals go. She can either go big with one of the university hospitals like Morgantown or one of the smaller regional ones. If you were to look farther down the road (and a bit farther away from MD) you'll find the CAMC hospital system based out of Charleston. Charleston is pretty nice overall. It's about the size of Frederick population-wise and has very good restaurants, good shops, is right where three major interstates meet, has an airport with daily jet service to metro areas, and even a navigable river. That's where I grew up and my folks still live there. If you want to live outside the city it's easy to do. Just a 10-minute drive from the city center and you're over a couple of ridges and in your own little section of the woods. If you want to live near good schools and amenities, you can live in Charleston, and then it's just a 10-minute drive to places like Kanawha State Forest which was a CCC project and includes picnic shelters, miles and miles of hiking, biking, and horseback riding trails, and on of WV's numerous FREE 100-yard outdoor shooting ranges.

Internet access has greatly improved in rural WV over the past decade and is getting better and better all the time. Shelley Moore Capito has really been great about getting tech companies to route major trunk lines through the state. Facebook just ran one through the southern part of the state up through Beckley and there's another one that was run several years ago through the Morgantown/Fairmont/Clarksburg region. Lots of tech jobs have moved to the latter mentioned corridor recently as well. Well-educated CS degree holders from WVU combined with a low cost of living and good quality of life have drawn companies like Leidos there from here in suburban MD.

Even without those new high-bandwidth options, it's getting easier and easier to have access in even the most rural areas. My buddy who works for Crowdstrike just got his dad a Starlink subscription for his house in Marlinton (Pocahontas county). $99/mo for 100 down 25 up that you can literally take ANYWHERE you want. That's not too shabby.

[tallen702]

Originally Posted by Sampson

Good for you taking the kids to experience life outside of their elements and help others. I've done that with my church. It is amazing what they can do when they are allowed to and prompted a little.

WV is a wonderland of natural beauty and adventure. Full of good people, maybe not rich in money but many other ways. I have plenty of relatives west of Clarksburg, mainly Doddridge Co.

Doddridge County, home of the famously infamous Ephraim Bee, founder of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus!

My brother in-law's family has some roots in Doddridge Co. My family was mainly from Lewis County, Roane County, and Mineral County.

[axshon]

Thanks for this! We've been looking but not too serious yet. My wife and I have taken a couple of weekends out to the Applebutter festival in Berkeley Springs. Cool little town. Not many places you can find a 'singing bowl' shop, good eats with jacked up 4x4's with glass packs driving by outside. We're looking in Morgan, Berkeley and Hampshire counties. I'd like a lot of property but I'd settle for 2+ acres for a weekend cabin that's within about 3 hours of E.C.

Covenants aside, is there a legal property size limit where discharging a firearm is forbidden?

[FrankOceanXray]

OK guys, if you buy all this land... there won't be anymore! Please, nothing to see here. Disperse. Go home... close thread..

[tallen702]

Originally Posted by axshon

Covenants aside, is there a legal property size limit where discharging a firearm is forbidden?

It's county by county on that. I was on 1AC in Pocahontas County and shot my 10/22 off the front porch all the time, but there was nobody downrange of me and the next house was probably 50 yards away and only used as a vacation home. I'd look at the hunting laws regarding how far you have to be from a dwelling to discharge a firearm in the course of hunting and use that as a basis to start with. Then look for county ordinances.

That said unless you're in town, or nut-to-butt with the neighbor in terms of the distance between houses, chances are, nobody will care if you're in the right area.

[tallen702]

Originally Posted by daggo66

This is all very bad information. Do not move to WV or even consider buying there. Stay in MD

Originally Posted by FrankOceanXray

OK guys, if you buy all this land... there won't be anymore! Please, nothing to see here. Disperse. Go home... close thread..

Now now, I'm an ex-pat native, I think that gives me first dibs over you two anyway.

Also, did I mention Tudor's Biscuit World yet? Usually, if someone's on the fence about WV, that seals the deal.

[FrankOceanXray]

Originally Posted by tallen702

Now now, I'm an ex-pat native, I think that gives me first dibs over you two anyway.

Also, did I mention Tudor's Biscuit World yet? Usually, if someone's on the fence about WV, that seals the deal.

Must cancel OP. He is from MSNBC and CNN!

No, truly all great i do to consider. I am picking up some tidbits too. I hope we could all be neighbors. MDSity.