Renting in Morgantown or Surrounding

[the_spaniard]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

There really isn't an "unsafe" area around here, but there are areas that are somewhat run down that have traditionally been rented out to students and where you might not be happy if you are under 30 due to the prevailing lifestyle (they tend to party on weekends). Westover does not have much in the way of students living there, so that is not an issue... same with Star City. Both of these areas are north and northwest of the Morgantown traffic congestion too, so your commute to Hundred would be relatively unimpeded.

Thanks again, CT. I'm heading out to look at places Tuesday.

[the_spaniard]

After driving 10 hours x2 trips I havn't had much luck. Well, any to be truthful. Bear in mind it's just me and my 37 pound-medium-sized dog (had him weighed on suggestion of a rental office). I am working in Burton, and here is my experience:

After looking at six houses and over eight rental houses, all of the houses I saw were dumps. I have been in 42 states and I have never seen houses like this. Morgantown/Westover houses featured tore up carpet, black mold on the walls, One had ground in food throughout the staircase carpet. Thin walls, thin glass (no double pane), water damage in some of them with bowed, leaky roofs. I understand some of the time owners don't clean in-between tenants, but this was every, single. time. It's fairly obvious the college kids destroyed these houses, but it's new to me that owners would let their places go like this. Just wow. I had heard Westover is a great place to rent, but I wouldn't leave my trash at the houses I saw. Most of the exteriors of the lighter colored houses were even dirty brown-black.

I saw a decent rental apartment or two, but either they would make my commute 2 hours one way or they didn't take pets over 20-30#. Some of them were dumps, but not as bad as the houses.

I saw a place in Manning that was an absolute dump in an "interesting" neighborhood. I have never seen burned debris from a burned out house (which was never bull-dozed) strewn across the road before. Great atmosphere.

So that leaves Fairmont. Any advice or ideas there? Any part to stay away from? I have seen some nice houses (at least from the exterior) out there.

Once again, thanks in advance. I apologize if I have offended anyone with this post, but thus far my experience looking for a rental has not been a good one.

-ts

[tallydude02]

Did you try Waynesburg, PA? There are some apartments right off I-79 that are part of a management group based out of Morgantown. They take pets I believe. It's called Cedar Ridge. I'm not sure about the pet restrictions.

Point Marion, PA has some places time to time, but most of the places there are dumps too.

Fairmont has some rentals too, but to me they seem overpriced and hate to say, dumpy overall. There is a complex off I-79 near Fairmont (Whitehall) near DJ's 50's-60's Diner and the Quality Inn. It's two complexes called Crosswinds and The Woodlands. A friend of mine lived at the Woodlands and he had a big dog. They seemed nice, but this back in 2003.

Waynesburg would be closer to your job. It might be best to stick to management companies instead of private landlords in this region.

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by the_spaniard

After driving 10 hours x2 trips I havn't had much luck. Well, any to be truthful. Bear in mind it's just me and my 37 pound-medium-sized dog (had him weighed on suggestion of a rental office). I am working in Burton, and here is my experience:

After looking at six houses and over eight rental houses, all of the houses I saw were dumps. I have been in 42 states and I have never seen houses like this. Morgantown/Westover houses featured tore up carpet, black mold on the walls, One had ground in food throughout the staircase carpet. Thin walls, thin glass (no double pane), water damage in some of them with bowed, leaky roofs. I understand some of the time owners don't clean in-between tenants, but this was every, single. time. It's fairly obvious the college kids destroyed these houses, but it's new to me that owners would let their places go like this. Just wow. I had heard Westover is a great place to rent, but I wouldn't leave my trash at the houses I saw. Most of the exteriors of the lighter colored houses were even dirty brown-black.

I saw a decent rental apartment or two, but either they would make my commute 2 hours one way or they didn't take pets over 20-30#. Some of them were dumps, but not as bad as the houses.

I saw a place in Manning that was an absolute dump in an "interesting" neighborhood. I have never seen burned debris from a burned out house (which was never bull-dozed) strewn across the road before. Great atmosphere.

So that leaves Fairmont. Any advice or ideas there? Any part to stay away from? I have seen some nice houses (at least from the exterior) out there.

Once again, thanks in advance. I apologize if I have offended anyone with this post, but thus far my experience looking for a rental has not been a good one.

-ts

A lot of the low end rentals you were looking at are not being maintained because landlords have essentially given up on them. New student housing at reasonable rates has made houses like that non competitive, which is the flip side of development. Most of those will end up being abandoned and eventually have to be torn down. You didn't mention the rental rates for which you were shopping. The fact that you have a large dog is definitely a drawback in a tight market like this. I suggest you contact a real estate agent for help.