Virginia trailside property for sale

[warren doyle]

4-5 bedroom historic farmhouse; three porches; stream/pond in back yard; reliable springs on property; large wormy chestnut barn in good shape (can be converted into warm weather hostel/workshop or community center); two other outbuildings for storage and/or cold weather hostel.

10 acres of land - approximately two-three acres of flat creek bottom (good parking area for cars of section hikers being shuttled; or a garden); approximately three-four acres of flat, low ridgetop adjacent to trail corridor (potential cabin sites out of the trail viewshed); remaining acreage is sloped.

Location: on Rt. 683; 1.5 miles from exit 54 on I-81 (where the trail crosses at Groseclose/Atkins, VA); .3 miles off the trail via wagon road (about .5 south of the one-room schoolhouse at the Settlers Museum); within 1-1.5 hour drive of all features in the Mt. Rogers/Grayson Highlands area.

I purchased the house in 1986 with the hopes of living there some day but my path hasn't, and will not, lead me there. It has been rented out since 1986. Present annual rental income is $7,200 and annual property tax/insurance amount to just under $1,000.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who would like to start a hostel/shuttle service along the trail (similar to Honey and Bear's Cabin in Maine). Shuttle/slackpacking services could be easily provided between Damascus and Daleville due to easy road access to I-81 (Atkins/Daleville); I-77 (Bland/Bastian); and Rt. 460 (Pearisburg).

House will be shown to serious inquirers only during the month of June. Sealed bids, with evidence of solid financing, will be accepted until June 30. Decision will be made on or around July 4th with transfer of ownership by the early fall.

Minimum bid - $200,000.

If interested, please contact me at my e-mail address below.

Happy trails!

[StarLyte]

Sounds like heaven, and a dream hostel.

[warren doyle]

It is for someone with the dream/vision and desire.

[Lone Wolf]

The old AT used to pass in front of it. Nice piece of property. I always thought it would make a nice hostel. Back when I liked hikers.

[warren doyle]

That it did. That it is. That it will become.

[Lilred]

DangIT Warren, we just bought a new house not a month ago. Wow, this would have been so tempting. Good luck with the selling. I hope someone trail and hiker friendly gets it.

[Moon Monster]

I am not yet in the point in my life to consider this, but I thank you for providing me some daydreaming material and the notice to this board.

[cutman11]

Would the wagon road turnoff be about 10 or 11 trail miles north of the partnership shelter?

[Local]

Too far. Too bad. If this were within a few miles of Damascus it would be sold already. I know of two groups looking for property like this in the Damascus area. Best of luck with the sale. Maybe one of them thar rich Floridians will wander by.

[warren doyle]

The wagon road cutoff is .7 miles past VA615 (one-room schoolhouse at the Settlers Museum) which would put it about 10 miles north of Partnership Shelter.

It is less than an hour drive (approximately 40-45 miles) to Damascus, 25 miles on I-81 and less than 20 miles on two-lane.

[simon]

Sounds like a really sweet place. Where are the pictures or the realtor's website?

[warren doyle]

I'm selling it myself. I have no pictures of it that I can transmit electronically. The farmhouse is a two story with first and second floor front porches and a patio deck in the back. The bottom floor has four rooms, a pantry and a bathroom. The second floor has four rooms and a bathroom.
The basement is unfinished.
The house could use a paint job or vinyl siding. It has a good tin roof and structurally the building is sound without any insect infestation.
When I would walk by it on the trail in the 1970's and early 1980's, the house/barn/pond/lawn/hollow setting was always pleasing to my eye and I thought that I would want to live there. As I walked by it in 1986, there was a 'for sale' sign in front and I bought it.

[Jack Tarlin]

While I wish Mr. Doyle well with the sale of his property, I can't help but be amused: 0n 8-17-06, on another thread dealing with the A.T. Museum, Mr. Doyle suggested Groseclose VA as the perfect place for the proposed A.T. Museum.

Several folks at the time, myself included, posted that they couldn't for the life of them figure out what was so historically or geographically significant about Groseclose, and why it'd be a better location for the planned Museum than Harpers Ferry, Damascus, or any of the other proposed locations.

In short, nobody last August could possibly figure out what was so great about Groseclose, or why Mr. Doyle thought it was such a perfect location.

Now it becomes clear....could it just possibly be that Mr. Doyle hoped to rent or lease his property to the folks planning the Museum?

Gee, do ya think??

And even more humorously, in suggesting Groseclose as the perfect site of the new museum, Mr. Doyle was at pains to point out that siting the museum there would work because the site had "plenty of space, great public access, lower living expenses" and putting the museum there would be "helping the local economy."

Yeah, I guess it would, especially if one had property in the area one wanted to sell or rent!!

Anyway, I now understand why Mr. Doyle proposed Groseclose as the "perfect" museum location, even tho the idea seemed quite odd when he first presented it.

I now understand his motives entirely.

And so does everyone else.

[warren doyle]

"I now understand his motives entirely."
(Internegator interpretation)

On this particular matter, you understand nothing about my motives.

[Darwin again]

While I wish Mr. Doyle well with the sale of his property, I can't help but be amused: 0n 8-17-06, on another thread dealing with the A.T. Museum, Mr. Doyle suggested Groseclose VA as the perfect place for the proposed A.T. Museum.

Several folks at the time, myself included, posted that they couldn't for the life of them figure out what was so historically or geographically significant about Groseclose, and why it'd be a better location for the planned Museum than Harpers Ferry, Damascus, or any of the other proposed locations.

In short, nobody last August could possibly figure out what was so great about Groseclose, or why Mr. Doyle thought it was such a perfect location.

Now it becomes clear....could it just possibly be that Mr. Doyle hoped to rent or lease his property to the folks planning the Museum?

Gee, do ya think??

And even more humorously, in suggesting Groseclose as the perfect site of the new museum, Mr. Doyle was at pains to point out that siting the museum there would work because the site had "plenty of space, great public access, lower living expenses" and putting the museum there would be "helping the local economy."

Yeah, I guess it would, especially if one had property in the area one wanted to sell or rent!!

Anyway, I now understand why Mr. Doyle proposed Groseclose as the "perfect" museum location, even tho the idea seemed quite odd when he first presented it.

I now understand his motives entirely.

And so does everyone else.

Um. So. What.
Is this the Expose Channel?

What a man does with his property is his own business.
Not yours, I think.

There's nothing wrong with profiting while helping a good cause, is there? That would be a win-win situation. I'd call an AT museum, or whatever, a higher use of the resource than, say, selling off the land to McMansion developers.

With real property ownership comes responsibility -- which some of us are obviously free from and oblivious to, and therefore do not understand. If I had property like that, I'd certainly yearn for its higest use if I thought it might pass from my stewardship.

Sometimes it's not wise to project imagined motives onto others since it reveals so much about ourselves.

[Heater]

4-5 bedroom historic farmhouse; three porches; stream/pond in back yard; reliable springs on property; large wormy chestnut barn in good shape (can be converted into warm weather hostel/workshop or community center); two other outbuildings for storage and/or cold weather hostel.

10 acres of land - approximately two-three acres of flat creek bottom (good parking area for cars of section hikers being shuttled; or a garden); approximately three-four acres of flat, low ridgetop adjacent to trail corridor (potential cabin sites out of the trail viewshed); remaining acreage is sloped.

Location: on Rt. 683; 1.5 miles from exit 54 on I-81 (where the trail crosses at Groseclose/Atkins, VA); .3 miles off the trail via wagon road (about .5 south of the one-room schoolhouse at the Settlers Museum); within 1-1.5 hour drive of all features in the Mt. Rogers/Grayson Highlands area.

I purchased the house in 1986 with the hopes of living there some day but my path hasn't, and will not, lead me there. It has been rented out since 1986. Present annual rental income is $7,200 and annual property tax/insurance amount to just under $1,000.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who would like to start a hostel/shuttle service along the trail (similar to Honey and Bear's Cabin in Maine). Shuttle/slackpacking services could be easily provided between Damascus and Daleville due to easy road access to I-81 (Atkins/Daleville); I-77 (Bland/Bastian); and Rt. 460 (Pearisburg).

House will be shown to serious inquirers only during the month of June. Sealed bids, with evidence of solid financing, will be accepted until June 30. Decision will be made on or around July 4th with transfer of ownership by the early fall.

Minimum bid - $200,000.

If interested, please contact me at my e-mail address below.

Happy trails!

Sounds like something to really consider.

Unfortunately I am about 35K short of that so I'll have to pass.

[Vi+]

Warren,

I’m not trying to argue with or embarrass you, I’m just curious. I could even be a prospective buyer. Other White Blaze readers may also find additional information useful, both for themselves as well as for others whom they know.

1. What makes this house historic?


Structures:

2. When was the house first built? Have there been any additions?

3. You advise the residence has four to five bedrooms. When you consider this a four bedroom house, for what other purpose would you consider the “fifth bedroom” suitable?

4. Room sizes: Please provide.

5. For what purpose are the four rooms of the bottom floor put?

6. Are the bathroom and pantry included as part of those four rooms?

7. For what purpose are the four rooms of the second floor put?

8. Is the bathroom included as part of those four rooms?

9. Of what is the basement is constructed? Dirt floor?

10. Of what material(s) is the exterior constructed?

11. When was the outside last painted?

12. Wouldn’t covering the exterior with siding diminish its historic value?

13. Are the interior walls drywall or something else?

14. What material is the insulation? How thick?

15. In what condition are the patio deck, three porches, house, barn, and two outbuildings?

16. When you describe this as a “wormy chestnut barn” are you saying “wormy” as in the passive sense, where the style is that worms have made their mark but are no longer present, or in the more active sense that worms remain active in the wood?

17. What are the sizes of the house, barn, and two outbuildings?


Lot:

18. How wide, long, deep are the stream and pond in the back yard? Any idea of water volume?

19. How often do the springs dry out? What is the source(s) of drinking water?

20. How often does the flat creek bottom flood?

21. Are the dwellings always two-wheel-drive vehicle accessible, especially during the spring flood season?

22. How is the three to four acre flat, low ridge top land situated? A square, rectangle running lengthwise with the AT Corridor, triangular, etc?

23. Regarding “adjacent to trail corridor,” how far is this from the actual Appalachian Trail footpath?

24. Regarding the remaining sloping land, is it sloping uphill or downhill away from the house?

25. Is the view from the house over an open expanse or up a slope?


Rental:

26. How many tenants have lived here since 1986?

27. How long have the periods of vacancy been?

28. Would you mind if I spoke with the current tenants? If that’s alright, please PM me with their names and telephone number(s).


Sale:

29. What constitutes evidence of solid financing?

30. Would you accept a contract contingent upon the sale of an existing home?


Other:

31. Where could I determine the location(s) of hospital(s), number of physicians, lawyers, gyms, schools, libraries, etc, in around and near Damascus?

These are a lot of questions, but you’re appealing to a limited group of potential buyers many of whom won’t consider your house to be on the beaten path, heh, heh. Besides, you’re selling it yourself, and you had nothing else to do anyway. ; )

Thanks.

[Frosty]

I’m just curious.

28. Would you mind if I spoke with the current tenants? If that’s alright, please PM me with their names and telephone number(s).

29. What constitutes evidence of solid financing?

30. Would you accept a contract contingent upon the sale of an existing home?

28. If you are a serious buyer, contact him and ask. I don't think it is appropriate to have people bothering current tenants unless you are serious intending to buy or considering to buying. Tenants should not be bothered unnecessarily, certainly not because you are "curious."

29. A real estate listing, here or anywhere, describes a property and if you are interested, you look into it. Things like financing don't matter if you aren't going to even look at the house with the possibility of buying it.

30. Have you bought a house before? You put whatever you want into the offer. Just write the wording into the contract and he will accept it or not. Just because a seller says he doesn't want that beforehand, sometimes their minds change when they hold a $20,000 deposit check in their hands. Puts a whole new slant on the question when saying no means giving back the check.

etc etc etc

Leave the guy alone. He's offering AT-interested people first crack at buying. What's wrong with that? If no one is interested, then he can sell to someone who wants to build a Go-Kart track or whatever on the property.

[Tim Rich]

Those are some good questions. Conversion costs to an operating hostel (additional bathroom/septic system, converting outbuildings, kitchen capacity, general repair) would need to be factored in to see at what useage level it would cash flow. At its current net income of $6,200 a year (assuming no maintenance expenses), a very liberal 6% cap rate suggests a value well below the bid minimum.

Our hearts are with the AT, but our wallets (at least mine) are too thin to be swayed by emotion. It's got to make economic sense or a hostel will be a one-season wonder.

Take Care,

Tim

[Darwin again]

That's a good set of questions from a potential buyer. If you've ever bought, you know...