Looking at getting a STL in Snowshoe WV, first time

Looking at getting a STL in Snowshoe WV, first time

Member since 2019 · 4 posts · 0 votes

Hello everyone, I've never owned any property before and I've been looking at getting a STL at Snowshoe WV. I have lots of questions and would love any input.

My goal is to get a place I can use quite a bit, but hopefully rent out to cover at least any mortgage and operating costs. This being my first venture into real estate the lower risk/stress/trouble the better.
I have about $60k in cash, plus another $40k I could access but would rather not. I have no debt, and have been living very frugally since the pandemic hit,

At a glance Snowshoe seems like a great opportunity. My friends and I could use it year round for Skiing as well as mountain biking/hiking/nature exploration. The cost *is* historically very high like the rest of the market, but not prohibitively so. 1 Bed condos go for ~90k - 150k and 3 bed go for $250k - $350k. The HOA rates for the area are very high though with a 1bd being ~$400 and a 3bd going up from $600-800 / month.
I've seen a lot of mixed reviews on this area from "Its very hard to break even due to the high costs and special assessments" to "I bought a place here for 50k 3 years ago and am making a killing" so I'm trying to find out if it is actually worth it.

I did get an AirDNA subscription for the area, but in all honesty it is very difficult to derive much insight from it.
The big questions:

  1. 1. Should I even be looking now? The hot winter rental season is only a few months away, I would love to have a place before then, but would I be paying a premium pre-skiing season? I do believe that the market is going to cool off quite a bit in the coming months, this is my personal thought granted it may not be true.
  2. 2. 1 Bed vs 3 Bed; I could easily afford a 1 bed condo and purchase any furnishings. I could also support it as a pure cost if worst case scenario there's another covid shutdown or we head for an apocalyptic great recession. I would really like to get at least a 2bd if not a 3bd 2ba so I can have groups of friends join. It does increase the rental price, but according to AirDNA the occupancy rate seems to be about the same, and if there's an increase in utilities/management fees etc it almost looks like they would bring in the same amount after costs.


Other questions:

  1. 1. Does having a condo in a building with more amenities like a hot tub draw more renters, or is it mostly based off of price and how many people it can sleep.
  2. 2. Is there anyway to see historical "Special Assessment" charges for a condo? I've heard these happen frequently and can be pricey.
  3. 3. What could I expect for typical utilities charge?
  4. 4. Ballpark how much does it cost to furnish a rental, specifically 1bed vs 3 bed.
  5. 5. Property maintenance rate?
    1. Typical cleaning costs? Is it directly attributed to the number of stays?
  6. 6. How are owner/resort relations?
    1. I've seen some subtle hints that the resort is strict or controlling in some way?
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  • Real Estate Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2019 · 763 posts · 500 votes
    4y

    All of these questions would be great for a local realtor who specializes in STR in that market. Most of the questions you asked are very market specific and require in depth knowledge of that area to give good answers to. I would start by looking up local agents and interviewing them with some of your questions. You could also look up local STR PMs and ask what agents they recommend (hint, they can also help you with the Operating cost piece and are usually willing to share info since they are trying to earn your business).

    Good Luck!

  • Member since 2019 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Karl McGarvey:

    All of these questions would be great for a local realtor who specializes in STR in that market. Most of the questions you asked are very market specific and require in depth knowledge of that area to give good answers to. I would start by looking up local agents and interviewing them with some of your questions. You could also look up local STR PMs and ask what agents they recommend (hint, they can also help you with the Operating cost piece and are usually willing to share info since they are trying to earn your business).

    Good Luck!


     Ah thanks, yea I'm trying to connect with a friend of a friend who has 2 properties there to hopefully gather some of his insight.  Would agents answer in an honest way or would everything be skewed to get me to purchase one of their listings?

  • Real Estate Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2019 · 763 posts · 500 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Adam Smith:
    Quote from @Karl McGarvey:

    All of these questions would be great for a local realtor who specializes in STR in that market. Most of the questions you asked are very market specific and require in depth knowledge of that area to give good answers to. I would start by looking up local agents and interviewing them with some of your questions. You could also look up local STR PMs and ask what agents they recommend (hint, they can also help you with the Operating cost piece and are usually willing to share info since they are trying to earn your business).

    Good Luck!


     Ah thanks, yea I'm trying to connect with a friend of a friend who has 2 properties there to hopefully gather some of his insight.  Would agents answer in an honest way or would everything be skewed to get me to purchase one of their listings?


     Agents are salespeople, so yes they may seem things look great... but that's where you have to do your own due diligence to back up what they are saying. Anytime I work with clients, I provide the resources I use to get them their answers so that they have the exact same data I am working off of and I cannot skew anything. IF the agent you work with cant provide the data, then I would start to question it. 

  • Member since 2019 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    4y

    @Karl McGarvey Thanks for the input, I reached out to an agent who happened to have a condo he rents there and he gave me documents on all the expenses associated with his condo. It is very helpful/insightful. 

  • Real Estate Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2019 · 763 posts · 500 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Adam Smith:

    @Karl McGarvey Thanks for the input, I reached out to an agent who happened to have a condo he rents there and he gave me documents on all the expenses associated with his condo. It is very helpful/insightful. 

    Great to hear!
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