WV Property-Search thread:

Johnconlee · Dec 14, 2021

What’s the deal with free natural gas? My coworker and I were looking at a place in west union that had a free natural gas well. My grandfather had a place in west union 20 years ago with what he called free gas. There was a gas well in the yard feeding the house. Is it really free? Do the wells ever run dry? Maintenance costs? Just scanned through the thread here and I only see mention of mineral rights ownership, no mention of actually using the minerals.

traveller · Dec 14, 2021

Johnconlee said:
What’s the deal with free natural gas? My coworker and I were looking at a place in west union that had a free natural gas well. My grandfather had a place in west union 20 years ago with what he called free gas. There was a gas well in the yard feeding the house. Is it really free? Do the wells ever run dry? Maintenance costs? Just scanned through the thread here and I only see mention of mineral rights ownership, no mention of actually using the minerals.

The 'free' gas for household use is part of whatever lease the owner of the mineral rights signed with the gas company at the time when the well was built. That owner of the mineral rights may or may not have been the same as the owner of the surface rights at the time. The 'free gas' is a cheap way for the well owner to perpetually maintain a relationship with whoever lives on top of their leasehold. While the surface owner doesn't have the right to get the well removed, the well owner generally has an interest in maintaining a cordial relationship with the surface dweller.

The thing to keep in mind is that obviously this land is on top of gas bearing formations AND there is someone who holds a lease on extracting that gas. While the company may not have touched that well in years, it is entirely possible that one day a dozer shows up and cuts a new road so they can modify the well to increase yield or do something else with it.
With the right to sink a well also comes the obligation to properly abandon it. Typically, the companies have to file a bond with the state, but depending on some factors, they are sometimes allowed to drop that bond at some point. While it is definitely the well owners obligation to properly abandon the well, with the complex ice cream cone corporate schemes often employed in the industry, that obligation may fall on a company that is little more than a mailbox in Delaware. Abandoned wells can be a headache and before buying a property with wells and leases, it would probably be a good idea to consult a local attorney who specializes on mineral rights, knows the players involved and can look at all the paperwork to tell you what your rights and obligations are.

Foohaus · Dec 14, 2021

Some properties we looked at out there that have extraction or transmission easements (think high-voltage transmission lines or a gas pipeline through the property) include free [whatever utility is using the easement] for the property owners.

Just a guess, but maybe a gas extraction company has an easement and this was part of the deal.

DanGuy48 · Dec 20, 2021

Out there. Not a bad house on 85 acres.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/638-Short-Run-Rd_Pennsboro_WV_26415_M49744-72776

MigraineMan · Dec 20, 2021

DanGuy48 said:
Out there. Not a bad house on 85 acres.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/638-Short-Run-Rd_Pennsboro_WV_26415_M49744-72776

Finally, is the beautiful abode. With a dining room, family room and living room there is plenty of space to entertain.

Uhm, yeah ... about that.

DanGuy48 · Dec 20, 2021

MigraineMan said:
Uhm, yeah ... about that.

Don’t be too critical now, the realtor is on a roll!

Occam · Dec 20, 2021

DanGuy48 said:
Out there. Not a bad house on 85 acres.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/638-Short-Run-Rd_Pennsboro_WV_26415_M49744-72776

Gotta love that FEMA 10-out-of-10 Extreme Flood Risk rating.

Bob A · Dec 20, 2021

Occam said:
Gotta love that FEMA 10-out-of-10 Extreme Flood Risk rating.

Plenty of timber on the land; start an Ark ASAP.

MigraineMan · Dec 20, 2021

Bob A said:
Plenty of timber on the land; start an Ark ASAP.

Now, a Rod and Gun club with cabins and a lodge on the *other* side of the 80-acres might have merit.

Sampson · Dec 20, 2021

That's the problem with finding flat building land in that region. Most of it is very low in the valley with creeks and the drainage off of the hill collecting there.

press1280 · Jan 7, 2022

Occam said:
Gotta love that FEMA 10-out-of-10 Extreme Flood Risk rating.

Yep, there's numerous plots of land in my neck of the woods with that same issue. If they don't have that issue then the land is on a steep steep incline/decline.

tallen702 · Jan 8, 2022

Sealion said:
I thought this was the most appropriate thread to post this. I have no idea if it's accurate. I thought it'd be interesting to hear from actual residents.

I would rank Charleston well above Morgantown and Wheeling. Morgantown would be my #5 in that list, followed by Lewisburg at #4, Martinsburg/Charlestown at #3, Fairmont/Bridgeport/Clarksburg as #2 (they're all right next to each other), and Charleston as #1 based on the criteria they seemed to be using (schools, jobs, income opportunity, etc.).

I'm not sure why they even have Wheeling on that list. It's been dying for decades. They lost > 5% of their already small population over the past decade and pretty much the only thing there that generates good-paying jobs is WesBanco who you may recognize as having recently acquired Old Line Bank. It wasn't always that way. Wheeling was the original western terminus of the National Road that connected the Chesapeake in Baltimore to the Ohio River. Wheeling was the original steel and iron powerhouse of the country but Pittsburg ultimately overtook that title once the upper waters of the Ohio River were made navigable for larger barges and ships with larger locks and dams as technological advances occurred.

Now, most people in this thread are looking for more remote areas to settle by and large. That said, with most of the areas listed (with the exception of Martinsburg/Charlestown) you can easily be on plenty of private acreage with no heavy-handed oversight or local (city) taxes but still within an easily commutable distance to amenities. The nature of the landscape means that you just have to find enough property up a holler somewhere and you're in your own little world in no time.

Stoveman · Jan 9, 2022

DanGuy48 said:
Out there. Not a bad house on 85 acres.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/638-Short-Run-Rd_Pennsboro_WV_26415_M49744-72776

Is that a tanning bed next to the scoped rifle?

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Stoveman · Jan 9, 2022

Now that's a fan.

d4f326c0de40211e654ba3c0de33c988l-m4235984647od-w1024_h768_x2.webp

traveller · Jan 9, 2022

tallen702 said:
I would rank Charleston well above Morgantown and Wheeling. Morgantown would be my #5 in that list, followed by Lewisburg at #4, Martinsburg/Charlestown at #3, Fairmont/Bridgeport/Clarksburg as #2 (they're all right next to each other), and Charleston as #1 based on the criteria they seemed to be using (schools, jobs, income opportunity, etc.).

I dont think any of the WV cities are all that hot as a place to live. Now if there is a place you want to be reasonably close to, particularly in retirement, Morgantown is a good little town. Good specialty healthcare and all the retail you would need.

Occam · Jan 9, 2022

traveller said:
I dont think any of the WV cities are all that hot as a place to live. Now if there is a place you want to be reasonably close to, particularly in retirement, Morgantown is a good little town. Good specialty healthcare and all the retail you would need.

Or, make a Virginia city your West Virginia city. Meaning, buy in a place like Hampshire County, and you're a very reasonable drive to Winchester for any city slicker things you could need (including a Costco, Martins, etc), and a much shorter local drive to tolerable groceries and other butter-and-egg type basics any time.

Johnconlee · Jan 9, 2022

Stoveman said:
Is that a tanning bed next to the scoped rifle?

With a towel blocking natural light out. Somebody is just living it up.

Tungsten · Jan 9, 2022

Pink-handled katanas. The most dangerous kind of ninja....

MaxVO2 · Jan 9, 2022

MigraineMan said:
Uhm, yeah ... about that.

*****It's actually a really cool home given that it's over 120 years old, and has 85 acres, etc... It's got a covered porch area on the deck, plenty of storage space for stuff, a 22KW natural gas generator, it's near a little stream that prolly becomes a really big stream during flood season/snow melts.. and the rooms are pretty basic but functional.

The home is in a 10/10 flood zone but has some architecture and placement to somewhat mitigate water intrusion as it is on an elevated perch with decent runoff it looks like. Presumably the home, or parts of it, has been standing for 122 years so there's that...

You can see a family lives there, and the home seems reasonably well maintained. It's cozy and warm in the Winter I bet. Over the years, it looks like folks have spent some money on that home upgrading appliances, the flooring, and the toilets, etc..

I've seen a lot worse homes in many parts of Maryland with basically zero land and very poorly maintained. Baltimore row-houses, some of the older cracker box homes in Rockville, Wheaton, Silver Spring, etc..

It's got charm! And 85 acres... for about the cost of an older townhouse in MoCo (Montgomery Village, Germantown, etc..) that has no land.

Young couple starting a family, if there's internet - it could work for someone in IT or who can work from home through tele-commuting, etc...

Raise some chickens, a few sheep or goats, a pig or two, etc... One could do worse.

traveller · Jan 9, 2022

MaxVO2 said:
The home is in a 10/10 flood zone but has some architecture and placement to somewhat mitigate water intrusion as it is on an elevated perch with decent runoff it looks like. Presumably the home, or parts of it, has been standing for 122 years so there's that...

Well, the house may have had 'wet feet' a few times in those 122 years, but whatever happened, it was repairable. Not the kind of house where you would want to put $50,000 home theater into the basement, but if that is how you roll, you probably not gonna buy a house in the backwoods.

The FEMA floodplanes are just a parameter calculated off GIS elevation data. As you point out, there is a lot more to it than just elevation data. The issue is if someone needs to finance the place, the lender will require flood insurance, which given a floodplain location is quite expensive (and doesn't pay for shit).

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