Common Questions...
1. What is the percentage growth in the Real Estate market around Morgantown?  Morgantown is experiencing tremendous growth as many new businesses are developed and West Virginia University grows to over 30,000 students by 2010.  For this reason the market sees a very quick turnover and steady appreciation on medium priced housing. Depending on location, Morgantown's market appreciation is around 7-15% annually.
2. I have seen some of the homes in Morgantown and there is a lot of sub-par housing...are there nice investment properties available?  As with any market, you must do you homework first.  There are a lot of quality houses in Morgantown and there are some run-down houses.  Anything under $100k will most likely need quite a bit of work, but there is a lot of nice houses, condos and town homes available for $100-200k.
3. My child is going to be a Freshman, when should I start to look for investment housing?  It is highly recommended that a new student stays in the dorms their first year, to meet new people and to find roommates to help pay for your investment! Start looking for potential properties about half-way through the Fall Semester of their Freshman year.
4. What is an Interest-Only Loan?  An interest-only loan (IOL) from a lending broker is one in which you only pay interest the first few years of owning the property, drastically reducing the monthly payment.  Since your child will be in Morgantown for 4-8 years, this loan is perfect for this type of situation.  Once you have to begin paying down the principle balance, it will be time to sell the property.  A small down payment is usually required.