Nobody Wants These Cheap West Virginia Homes With Land — Here’s Why

In Roane County, West Virginia, 100 acres of land with a four-bedroom farmhouse is listed for $199,900 — less than the median American home price. It has been sitting on the market for 703 days. So I pulled 10 listings from across West Virginia. The smallest parcel is 10.5 acres. The largest is 100. The cheapest is $69,900. And these aren't abandoned wrecks. One is a finished log cabin. Another is a hunting camp with six sets of bunk beds. Another is a mountain cabin with a wood stove overlooking the ridge line. But then I checked the county records. That's where things got interesting. In five of these 10 properties, the county assessor has no building entry at all. And in three of the five that do, the county says the land is worth more than the building. That matters because a lender doesn't lend against the land column. It lends against the building. And that leads to two tests that pull in opposite directions: *Where the land represents most of the value, the bank may not follow you.* *Where the building represents most of the value, you have to be able to actually live there in February.* Every one of these 10 properties fails one of those tests. And nine sellers have already cut a combined *$337,500* from their asking prices while trying to answer a question nobody was asking. The problem isn't simply that these homes are too expensive. *Not one of these listings failed on price.* Ten properties. 326 acres. $1,683,400 in combined asking prices. 3,710 total days on the market. So why aren't buyers taking them? In this video, we look at the listings, county assessor records, and federal crime and hazard data to find out what these West Virginia properties are really telling us about cheap homes with land. Every number is shown on screen when it is mentioned. *Sources:* Sellers' own property listings, county assessor records, and federal crime and hazard data.