STR in Snowshoe Mountain WV

[EZ Hassan]

I am new here and looking to start becoming a real estate investor. I started at looking condos in Snowshoe, WV and was wondering if anyone would share their experience. There are few options many of them very cheap ( 20K-50K) for a studio or one bedroom. I went and saw a few also looked at some "cash flow" sheets from the realtor most of them are about breaking even with the snowshoe rental program. Other who are doing VRBO or other private management company seem to be brining modest cash flow ( about $5000 on a 50K condo, or so after taxes/condo fees/utilities ..no repairs)...I was thinking of buying a cheap one (20K-40K) cash anyway since looking at zillow it looks like they are at the bottom price they have ever been and worest case scenario I break even and hopefully not lose much equity...what do you think?

[James Fisher]

The Aspen group recently purchased Snowshoe and are making some great improvements.  

HOWEVER - there is a reason the condos are priced so low.  Many owners that bought property there as an investment are willing to take a large loss just to get out from underneath it.  

HOAs fees are out of this world.  Special assessments almost a yearly thing and are usually several thousand dollars at a minimum.  Outside of the Snowshoe rental program - good luck finding anyone to do maintenance or clean after guests leave.  If you utilize the Snowshoe rental program you have no ability to screen guests - I've had owners tell me that they've had to replace every stick of furniture in their property after a poorly screened group destroyed everything.  Also, there are some weird cancellation/rescheduling rules with the Snowshoe program.

Personally, I think the only way that Snowshoe works as a rental is if you are an owner that plans on using the property all ski season except big holidays (Christmas, NYE, MLK, and President's Day).  Rent the property out yourself on the big holidays (not using the Snowshoe rental program) and make sure you visit the property enough to catch any needed maintenance.