Winchester Virginia area -suitable for NoVa investors?

Question

My wife and I are looking to invest in our very first rental property this year. We have been studying up as much as possible and I believe that we have a plan. Our primary residence is in the DC metro area so we are looking to invest 1-2 hours away. I am not comfortable investing out of state until we have more experience. Right now, we are considering Winchester, Richmond and even possibly Charleston WV. Any members have experience investing in multi-family rentals in any those markets? Any advice for getting a feel for a market that you do not live in, but can drive to?

Stephanie P. · Answer

LouYou should take a look at Hagerstown or Frederick in MarylandStephanie

Michael Jackman · Answer

Maryland has much higher tax rates and more regulations which means more inspections. Berkeley County seems to be the way to go in this immediate region.

Bill Kenny · Answer

Hi Lou, We are bullish on Berkely county West Virginia and have many rentals in Martinsburg. The growth in this county gives it a bright future. If you are interested in learning more we (myself and @Mike Webb ) have a monthly meetup with all kinds of real estate investors, agents, contractors, Property managers that are highly engaged locally. I'm an investor agent and can help with any questions you may have about this area. There are people who come from Winchester to our meetup and invest in Martinsburg. Here is our meetup info:https://www.mdwvhomebuyer.com/berkeley-county-inve...Happy Investing! Bill

Daniel P. · Answer

I currently live in Winchester and own a few properties out here along with some in Inwood, WV. It is tough to find multifamily here and as someone said earlier, when you do they are old and almost always in the wrong area of town. I am happy to meetup with whoever wants to discuss investing out here.

Lou LaMedica · Answer

Hi @Bill Kenny - thanks for connecting! I am really impressed by the meetup group that you have put together. Congratulations on building a business and a generous community. I have it on my calendar to be there on the 24th. I look forward to meeting yourself and Mike and the group that you have there.

Brandon L. · Answer

@Lou LaMedica I do not own anything out in Winchester but I love the area. Smaller multi-families generally fit that description no matter where you are in the country.

Lou LaMedica · Answer

@Nik Moushon Wow -really informative post! That is a great point about the train to DC in Martinsburg. I've been to the VA Hospital out there and liked the area. I've found a few multifamily in the 100-110k range that seemed to be priced reasonably on MLS. My next step is to find out about vacancy rates and crime out there - I don't really have a feel for that market yet. Sorry to hear about the loss when you left Winchester. From what I have heard, the development out there has slowed down again recently. We live in Loudoun and there are townhomes going up everywhere but they are all priced at top dollar. When you say market types and market areas are you referring to secondary and tertiary markets? Due to inexperience with real estate, we are looking for a market that we can drive to within an hour of our house. I like the economies of scale inherent in multi-family so that is why we are looking at that. I do not think we would be able to purchase a sfr along 66 with acreage - they are going for at least 350-400 which makes a down payment a little beyond what we can do to accomplish our 2019 goal of getting our first deal in the books.

Candace M.Lee · Answer

@Heather Skowronsky Hello Heather off topic I have been reading through BP and have been looking for a Reia meet up in Manassas I saw you as an individual who posted on this some time last year do you have any meet ups coming soon that I might start attending? Thank you

Jeffrey Honaker · Answer

@Lou LaMedica Hi Lou I live in Charleston, WV and I have three multifamily properties, all duplexes and I'm working on a quadplex as well currently with help from people on the forums. All of the properties I own are in Charleston. I love it because it is definitely a buyer's market down here. The bad however is a lot of the area is lower income which is true for WV as a whole - a lot of D and C properties. But that is my advantage because there are still people willing to stay and it is a good place for a first time investment because it is so cheap. Id be willing to show you the area and even go over some possible investments and deals in the area. I can also point you in the good areas and the areas to avoid. One interesting thing about Charleston proper is it is going through a revival in a redeveloped neighborhood known as Elk City and it is going to be interesting if that helps boost the cities worth. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Bill Kenny · Answer

@Lou LaMedica looking forward to meeting you too!