Mortgage Note Investing in West Virginia

West Virginia forecloses fast. A trustee exercises the power of sale in the deed of trust without court involvement under W. Va. Code §38-1-3 and the sections that follow, and a clean file clears in roughly two to three months. There is no statutory post-sale right of redemption on a deed-of-trust foreclosure — once the sale closes, title is clean. Speed plus immediate clean title is the core of the thesis.

The caution is the association super-lien. Under W. Va. Code §36B-3-116, a condominium or homeowners-association lien for up to six months of unpaid assessments takes priority over a prior recorded security interest — including your first deed of trust. On association-governed collateral, that six-month slice can prime your lien and trim recovery at the sale, so pull an assessment ledger and price it in before you close.

The rest is light. Delinquent property taxes are senior to your lien, and a West Virginia tax sale carries a one-year redemption at 12%, so monitor tax status. Deficiency judgments are available against the borrower, and no state license is required to buy or hold these notes. West Virginia is a fast, clean-title market — with the six-month condo super-lien as the one trap to underwrite around.