Getting read for new neighbors next to Hypno Coffee

Bank financing approved...in fact two banks agreed to terms. Highland Prospects is likely to move into Suite 3, more than doubling their existing retail space. Suite 2 is only 300 square, but will be a "suite" surprise nonetheless. There are 3 organizations considering the space, any one of which would be a great addition to Davis and this building within Davis Riverwalk in particular.

The new facade will encompass what is now the left garage door, adding a nice run of rough wood siding, some naturally rusting metal siding, new windows, a store door, and plenty of sign lighting. Highland Prospects will have 14' ceilings and one heck of a garage door for the sales in warmer months.

By June 1st you should see at least Highland Prospects fully installed and open for business. Later this summer, after Hypno and Highland and myself have seen the way traffic flows, we'll likely pour and stripe a new tarmac lot. There will also be a signage monument near William with some creatively rustic and industrial touches...which are still eluding me... And we wouldn't want to do that without installing a cool bike rack in front of the building;)

Tuscan Ridge homeowners' lodge in foreclosure?

How could this be? So claims an unnamed bank security rep in Davis who used to be a police sherrif. It would seem that one of the partners pulled out and the property is presently in play at some level. When buyers purchased their lots the bylaws and covenants spell out the terms associated with the lodge, and as I recall it was one sweet deal for the Homeowners Association. So why is there financing on the lodge if the homeowners own it?

As you may know North American Land marketed Tuscan's lots for 90-125K each for Phase 1. Tuscan Ridge was to be annexed to the Town of Davis in consideration of the tax revenues and Tuscan's willingness to fund the expansion of the Town's sewage treatment plant. No sewage plant expansion is in sight at this time.

Fire sale prices. Today there are dozens of lots on the market for as little as 40% of thier original sales prices. Nothing in Canaan compares with this implosion. There have been no resales that I am aware of, even at the low resale asking prices.

Encumbered proposition. How does a seller or an agent explain to a potential buyer that the expanded sewage treatment plant is an unfulfilled promise?...that the lodge -- its central amenity -- is in bank hands?

Comps in downtown Davis for a standard lot -- if you can find one to buy -- are about $22K, or $40k for a corner. That comes with sewer, water, and town services -- but no fancy Owner's Lodge;). Tuscan would be about where it should be for about $35k average price per lot -- but that would require solving the sewer plant issue and making sure the Homeowner's Association isn't upside down.

I would guess that any buyer who had financing for their lot purchase will consider walking away from the properties. Quite a few have already turned them back over to the banks. If you own a Tuscan lot or know more about the status of this development please share.

Next project, next door to Hypno Coffee

The two big garage door to the right of Hypno Coffee may become just one, with a new storefront design being planned this month. With these financial markets there is always a question mark on financing, but we are nearing the next step forward at Riverwalk. Visitors would enter the building via a common vestibule and then see store doors to all three suites (though Hypno will of course still have their own direct entrance). In warmer months the huge garage door could be opened for open air markets. Though it is an insulated door it will need a barrier while closed in winter. HVAC wrap insulation such as Astro-Foil appear to be a good solution for seaonally battening down the garage door opening. In the hard winter months the entry vestibule will help save energy costs and serve as a place for public postings.

Economically I am trying to stay in line with traditional Davis/Thomas rents while delivering space with low energy costs, low construction waste, and that meets WV construction codes. Not to mention our penchant for the rough and ready aesthetic of the lumber frontier town...

After a successful project and tenant move-in, I plan to re-surface and stripe the parking lot. But first things first!

A 120-acre tract encompassing the headwaters of Flat Run and containing meadows, wetlands and mature hardwood forest has been added to Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

The tract is just north of the CVNWR headquarters and straddles WV32. It appears that the Northlake developers sold it to a conservation entity, which in turn transferred it to the CVNWR. This at least in part seems like more evidence that there are too many lots in Canaan right now.

New family in an old house made new again

Welcome to Nick and Megan Wallace, their two young children, and I think, a labrador retriever. The Wallace's are moving to Davis this weekend from Mt Storm. Nick is an engineer at the power plant and Megan has lived in Davis in earlier years. The Wallace's are evaluating various business ideas for Davis and are excited to be in town. They will be living in the newly renovated Victorian on 4th and Kent. While it is well and good to rent out a property in Davis, it is truly exciting to help bring families to Davis. When we have young children we are interested in the schools, the bus routes, the parks, child care, and other families with children and related community resources. I know, having a 2-year old and a 9-month old! The slow decline of Davis the lumber and mining town over the 1940s-1990s eventually led to fewer young families. The resurgance of Davis as a mountain life style town is inviting families back to Davis, where they find a super-friendly and small community in an aesthetic mountain setting, where plenty of outdoor adventure awaits. More on our new neighbors to come...

Wilderness is advancing on Davis

The Senate took one step closer to passing a bill that would make Dolly Sods North into designated wilderness as part of the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area. Also included from the Valley would be the Flat Rock Roarding Plains section south of Dolly Sods.

Here is a map from the WV Wilderness Coalition web site showing the sections to be redesignated as Wilderness: http://www.wvwild.org/WildMonMap.pdf

Here is today's most detailed article I could find on the subject, though more will follow since the vote was only last night. The Campaign for America's Wilderness is one of several organizations allied in the effort to set aside these and other lands across the country. http://www.leaveitwild.org/news/releases/1405

In the Valley there can be found a subset of opions that that I will call unconventional. These are anti-Wilderness views. Close cousins to anti-National Park views. And, yes, there is also a move to consider consolidating public lands in the Valley to create a National Park, though that is years away, if it ever happens. The anti-Wilderness thinking goes something like this: the Federal Government is a bad actor. They encroach on private rights. They say they are here to help and end up restricting our use of the land for fun stuff like ATV's or mountain bikes or horse riding or motocross, or just plain hiking on trails. The anti-wildernss set claims that despite claims that strong protections help the local economy,it actually throttles the local economy by eliminating recreational uses and extractitive uses such as logging and mining.

I'm not sure I agree that the proposed additional Wilderness designations hurt Canaan Valley. I happen to believe that protections are good, so long as we are able to use the land in relatively non-invasive and non-motorized ways. I am an avid mountain biker but I don't want to be allowed to ride just anywhere in our most pristine lands. I want some limited riding in our most pristine lands and I want unlimited riding in more typical lands nearby. The Federal protections discussion is a complex debate and one that has more compromise in its solution than it has winners and losers.

Now let's get down to what's good or bad for Davis and the Valley when it comes to land protections. Long term, it is probably best to add Dolly Sods North as well as Flat Rock Roaring Plains. That said there should be opportunities to traverse them by mountain bike, horseback and skis. To offer a quality lifestyle in the Valley, we do not need recreational networks of mountain bike trails in the pristine heights of Dolly Sods and Flat Rock/Roaring Plains. But we do need that in other nearby, less pristine areas. As an economy, Davis will benefit from these protected designations. With these more subtantial destination parks, the area becomes more nationally recognized as the valuable natural gem that it is. This attracts visitors, but it also attracts home buyers who want to be near pristine and protected lands. If a bigger wilderness grows the Davis economy, how does it do it? Consider the demographic that cares about protected lands and will partially choose to visit or live in the area because of the high Federal protections. These people want a mountain lifestyle for starters. Next, they are choosing a lifestyle location for a business or retirement based partially on the risk that the area's wild areas will be managed well. Being surrounded by thousands of acres owned by Allegheny Power or Pocahantis Land (mining holdings) represents the highest risk to their lifestyle; these guys let nearly anything happen on their land and perpetuate the company town model in Canaan Valley -- I believe these large holdings around Canaan are bad for the economy here because they create a certain lawlessness and inject an uncertainty into the future of the area.

Once lands are protected in a variety of ways depending on the specific lands, we get a portfolio of federal, state and non-profit managed lands that, together, establish the Triple A Rating that says residents can be assured that they are living in an area that won't lose its prized natural assets. People buy homes, retire, open businesses, spend at local businesses and generate an economy. To my mind, the idea that less federal or state protected lands for Canaan equals a stronger economy is misguided. While making designations we do, however, need to be sure we are not choking off forms of recreation and tourism that are appropriate and valuable for the area.

Buying in the Valley - Q&A

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pete,
I have been reading your blog/website for awhile now. Keeping updated on the
progress of the riverwalk and davis. I wanted to ask you about buying real estate in canaan valley.
What is your opinion about real estate in davis/canaan? We are talking to several real estate agents and most of them
say davis/canaan hasn't been affected and what they have listed is the best "deal" in the valley.

We have been looking in canaan more so than davis. The reason being is, that one day we would like to move to davis but want to own a few
rentals properties in the area so that we have some kind of income when we make the move.. We are not sure that
we would be able to find decent paying jobs.

My question to you, i guess is: where would you buy in canaan/davis for around $200K that could be rented to skier and/or use as
vacation rental?

thanks

RESPONSE: when it comes to a $200k home in the Davis/ Canaan area there there are three rental scenarios: 1)short term/vacation; 2) season, 3) long term. For a property at this price point you would get supplemental income only from short term or seasonal rental, if that is ok. Of the 10 or so people I know who own a Canaan house (in the $200-350k area), most or all hate the vaca rental program. The agents take 30%+ and add on all kinds of marked up maintenance expenses caused by renters. They seem to book the properties they feel like booking and my feedback is that they do a poor job of it. You end up with your house run down a bit, alot of annoyance, and not much to show for it.. My sense is that the vaca rental market in the Valley has deteriorated except for a new wave of much higher end properties in prime locations. One other exception seems to be the self-marketers who have web sites and are extremely diligent in self-marketing their homes to repeat users. Unfortunately, there are more casualties on the road to vacation rental success than there are contented owners.

Canaan valley has in fact been affected and will be moreso this year. For example, my friend bought a new home in Tline 4 years ago for $370 and is now going to sell it in the low $300s. Her agent confided that CV is down 20%. Oddly, CV agents don't use the MLS much and don't consistently supply a comprehensive list of comps when you are buying or selling. Traditionally in Canaan, there is a lot of unrealistic overpricing reflected in listings, and there are also many unlisted homes that their owners would sell if they felt the market would absorb them. What you want of course is a seller that is not fishing, and is doing what is necessary to move the house.

Davis has perhaps been affected by a few percentage points, but as you can imagine, a house that would have sold for $85K has not fallen 20% -- perhaps 5 or 10% in Davis but not more, simply because they were already a bargain. Davis has a solid long term rental market with good rent-to-value ratios. A quality $100k house brings about $8,000 net income. As of yet, there really is no short term or seasonal market to speak of in Davis/thomas.

I am not sure if this suits the relocation scenario you contemplate, but consider the concept of two structures or units. A scenario we find very attractive in Davis is the arrangement of a house plus garage apartment, or two houses, a duplex, or a connected pair of structures called a side-by-side. You rent one of them out long term (eg 1 year lease) and either rent the other as vacation or not at all, depending on your schedule. In some cases the renter can be made the caretaker (ie mowing the lawn, watching for problems) for consideration in their rent. This type of scenario can reduce utilities, is easier to keep an eye on, reduces the risk of an isolated but not occupied structure, and includes the option to occupy the entire property in the future. There are full timers looking to rent full time in Canaan as well.

As for what I would do with $200k to buy a rental/vacation/retirement property, the neighborhood is very much a life style decision, but if Canaan or Davis, I would definitely consider a property with two units and rent one out long term.


Pete

PS - if you don't mind I may post this Q&A on the blog without your name...