Oct 2, 2024 | QA
Question: “What are the hidden costs of buying a home or condo?”
Our Answer:
In the excitement of finding your island home, keep these costs in mind:
- Inspections. An inspection by a licensed home inspector is key to any home or condo purchase. This will inform you as to the condition of the home or condo so that you better understand what you are buying. The owner will disclose anything they are aware of, but an inspector will give you a full detailed report. For a home or land, you will want a survey done. Often an appraisal is needed.
- Association fees. Condos have have HOA fees associated with them. Some homes do, too. These fees will be pro-rated for the year at closing.
- Maintenance, repairs, and decorating. Your monthly budget responsibilities could include landscaping, pool maintenance, pest control, garbage pickup, cable TV, and internet. There might be a few minor things for you to repair after closing. Also, you will want to make your new home YOURS. So, budget for decor, paint, landscaping, furniture, or anything else you may want to change. Sometimes just adding new decorative pillows will change the look of your living room and make it more personal!
- Utility bills. Don’t let budgeting for utilities get lost in your excitement. Think about the energy you will be using (water, electricity, AC, pool, washer/dryer, etc.), and add that to your monthly budget.
- Closing costs, prepaid fees and appraisal: If you are getting a loan, it does cost money. Plan on paying for your loan to be processed along with an appraisal fee. Closing costs and prepaid fees generally range between 3% – 5% of the purchase price.
Contact us with any questions about real estate on St. Croix!
Sep 18, 2024 | Reports
August 2024 sales data, inventory, and days on market for the St. Croix, USVI real estate market is available in our downloadable Coldwell Banker real estate reports. The is a report for each category: Homes & Condos, Condos, Homes, and Land!
If you are not familiar with with the implications of the data, please give us a call or email us directly with any questions. We are Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR) and Seller Representative Specialist (SRS) and have the experience and local knowledge to help you in every step of the process. We can help you narrow down neighborhoods based on your priorities. We can also advise you on the market trends in your desired neighborhoods.
Open reports by clicking on links below:
Homes & Condos – August 2024 Report
Homes – August 2024 Report
Condo – August 2024 Report
Land – August 2024 Report
Note: The average sales price and the average days on market could be skewed greatly by only one sale or because of the small number of sales
Sep 16, 2024 | Island News
Thanks to the approval of a Coastal Zone Management permit on Tuesday, the once popular Hibiscus Beach Hotel on St. Croix, which was built in 1992, closed in 2009, and demolished in the 2017 hurricanes, will be resurrected over the next few years according to St. Croix Source. The article also reported that in the Coastal Zone Management report, upon on completion of all three phases of construction planned, the hotel will be transformed into a sophisticated and fashionable establishment which will feature all amenities associated with a boutique hotel including a bar, a gym, a restaurant, a large pool and 115 adequate parking spaces, The establishment will boast 103 guest rooms.
Christie and I remember going to the Hibiscus Hotel many years ago beginning when we first came to St. Croix in 2002. When the Hibiscus Hotel was in full operation there were meetings, events, good food, and drinks. We have very fond memories of the beach and the beachfront bar and restaurant. It was a great scene!
We know there are development details that need to be worked out about neighborhood impact, site drainage, runoff, and beach access for residents as highlighted in the article, but we wish the developers the best of luck!
Read the full article here.
Photo by Susan Ellis of St Croix Source.
Sep 9, 2024 | Island News
Coral propagation can happen in different conditions. According to the VI Daily News, despite the many factors in play, researchers can identify the windows in time when corals are most likely to release gametes. Over the past week, teams of Nature Conservancy divers scoured the waters off The Deep End and Cane Bay for those gametes while others monitored the corals at TNC’s Coral Innovation Hub in Estate Little Princess. The researchers found a smaller number of colonies than they hoped for. The effects of the bleaching event in fall of 2023 is still being felt. The recent slight yield followed another disappointing spawning season in May, when another brain coral species The Nature Conservancy monitors showed the effects of last fall’s severe bleaching and heating event. When corals bleach, they exhaust their food reserves and find themselves with little energy to procreate according to researchers.
While bleaching does occur naturally, warming oceans means it’s starting earlier, ending later and more intense, giving corals less opportunity to recover according to the researchers in the article. The Nature Conservancy’s St. Croix work — which this week included late nights diving in worm-ridden waters or peering over dimly-lit aquariums — is meant to restore coral reefs by, eventually, churning corals out at scale.
Read the full article about the researchers work here.
Photo by Kat Macavoy of VI Daily News
Sep 3, 2024 | QA
Question: “Why do so many condo listings say “cash-sale only?”
Chris’s Answer:
Currently many condos on St. Croix must be purchased for cash since they don’t qualify for financing. A condo complex is warrantable if it operates as closely to a residence as possible, is not seen as a “condo hotel”, and complies with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Mortgage guidelines. When lenders are considering loans on condos in a specific complex, they look at many factors:
- Some HOAs, while insured, don’t meet the lenders guidelines.
- Have the number of vacation rentals in the complex been increasing?
- Does the condo complex rent office space to agencies which rent condos inside the complex?
After Hurricane Maria in 2017, insurance companies paid claims which were sometimes substantial. Many insurers decided to raise their premiums in subsequent years.
Condo complexes handled those rate increases in different ways. Some passed them along as either increases in the monthly HOA fees, or as special one time assessments.
Some HOAs reduced their premiums by increasing their deductibles or lowering the amount of their insurance coverage.
Many of the condo boards have been reviewing these issues and working with insurers to make adjustments to their coverage so that lenders are satisfied.
Contact us with any questions about real estate on St. Croix!
