buying a condo/please help educate me

Most condo fees will run far greater because they have the hurricane insurance for the structure. You can get contents insurance fairly cheap.
Some condos are self insured. Be careful. A lot of lending instutions won't lend money on them because in a lot of cases they don't have enough in reserve in case of a really big one.
If you are going to be on STX, contact Alexandra. She can be quite helpful.

thanks terry
I really want to think this though
appreciate your input

We bought a condo thru Alexandra almost two years ago. We are only there a couple of months a year until my wife retires, and we have never been sorry. The prices have gone up a lot since we bought, so I'm glad we bought when we did.
Depending where you buy and how you handle the heat will determine whether or not you will need A/C. we are from AZ, and our condo is on the bluff overlooking the ocean, so we have a breeze 90% of the time. We never run our A/C. We have been there in Aug, and had a couple of uncomfortable hours but it wasn't that bad , to us. We did use the celing and floor fans. Our electric bill for a month is around $125. Our nieghbors above us, run the A/C all of the time, and their electric bill is over $600 per month. They say that the main reason is because the salt air where we are is very bad on the TV, etc. They can't hear the ocean. I can buy a lot of TV's for the cost of the A/C, plus we enjoy the sea air and the sound of the ocean.

terry
excellent point
Could turn on the a/c at the Holiday Inn in Houston or at the Red Roof in Boise
ocean gets my vote
that's why they make deodorant
one more thing: if you rent your place out, how is that going

If you're buying a condo be sure to ask about the history the condo association has of making assessments. Low condo fees mean nothing if you're constantly being billed for extras. Also check the financial status of the association & how many owners are in arrears.

We don't rent it out. Our origional plan was to buy a two bedroom / two bath and rent it out. The ones that were for sale that had been rentals were in such deplorable shape that when we bought the one we did that had never been a rental, we decided not to do that.

shawno - if you email me directly at stcroixhomes@hotmail.com I can respond with an email that describes the various condo complexes on St. Croix, including their locations, pet policies, current sales price ranges, and many other details. The HOA fees vary by complex and size of unit and they change slightly on an annual basis as the complexes contract for a year at a time for things like security services, landscaping maintenance, insurance, etc.

Some of the condos home owner associations arrange full insurance, including hurricane coverage. A few complexes have opted to "self-insure", which means they have liability insurance on the buildings and grounds, but don't have coverage for windstorm damage and sometimes not for flood damage. This does make their monthly HOA fees lower than fully insured complexes, but it makes it harder to get a mortgage. First Bank will still underwrite loans on some of the self-insured properties, but you then have to pay an additional premium for "force placed insurance" that basically is like a mortgage insurance to protect the bank in the event your condo is destroyed in a hurricane. The HOA provided insurances do not cover your personal contents inside the condo and also don't cover your personal liability inside the condo (for example if a guest falls off your dining table while dancing in a rum-induced haze and breaks his/her arm.)

The fully insured properties are supposed to have sufficient coverage to repair or rebuild damage buildings should the need arise due to storm, fire or flood damage. Your investment should be secure if you purchase a fully insured condo. It could still take some time to complete repairs, of course, so you may be homeless until materials and laborers can be found to do the work. In the end, you should get your condo back.

Self-insured properties often have a fund into which the owners make a small deposit monthly so that in the event of a major storm the association may be able to pay for necessary repairs out of the $$ on deposit. They may also assess the owners additional dollars to complete repairs. If the damage is catastrophic, they can choose not to rebuild and you could stand to lose your entire investment.

Self-insured properties often have monthly fees in the $250-$500 range. This typically includes liability insurance for the complex, some general maintenance coverage to the exterior of the buildings, landscaping, pool maintenance, security, and possibly cable tv and terminix. Self-insured properties don't always include some of the services that fully insured properties do. It seems that the owners have chosen to go with the minimum services possible to keep their monthly payment low.

Fully insured properties monthly fees run from $450-$1500 per month. They cover all the various insurances, external building maintenance, pool maintenance, often tennis courts, terminix, cable tv, garbage dumpsters on-site, landscaping, security guards, sometimes it includes water and/or basic telephone.

Over and above the regular HOA charges, from time to time some complexes have owners meetings at which the owners vote on whether or not to assess themselves a special assessment for a specific purpose. These assessments are most often for some major refurbishment needed at the complex. Things like new sliding glass doors or front security doors for the units, new stairwells, new roofs on some of the buildings, etc. are examples of items for which special assessments may be requested.

Costs for real estate including condos are escalating. Condos which sold for less than $150K in 2003-2004 are now going for the high $300K range and up, The inventory of available properties is much tighter.

Monthly fees are expensive. For planning purposes figure toward the higher end of the ranges quoted particularly for a property with any amenities. Maintenance here of any property is expensive. Remember that you have to pay the pool man and the landscappers year round.

When figuring utilites water is expensive here. Not unusual to be billed $0.05 - $0.07 per gallon.

Insurance is high even with hurricane and earthquake deductibles.

Jim

Yes the prices have gone up a lot. Since we bought ours, they have gone up 75 to 150%. Of course that is what they are asking. I think some people in the 150% range are fishing for the "big one". But as they say, they aren't making any more land. It's still cheaper there than here in the Scottsdale, AZ. area. They are just opening a new complex next to the big shopping area in downtown Scottsdale where the condos are 3 to 4 MILLION $. With no ocean view, some only get the waterfront view, which is a canal. No kidding, that is what thay are advertising. A canal with a walkway and shops beside it.

Alexandra,
Thank you so much. I will Email you as soon as I figure out how. Just got a laptop and internert for Christmas and have not quite come into the current century regarding how to work all this technology,.

Jim Dandy,
Any idea when/if the market will level off ?
Maybe I should rent and wait to get my money's worth.

The market has leveled off here just as it has stateside. And houses tend to take longer to sale here then stateside. Condos on the other hand move faster (meaning more like 3 to 6 months). Condo fees in a nice development your looking at more like $700 and up for a 2/bed/bath, it may include water and cable. I would advise renting for at least 6 months. Make friends and get to know the island see if you even like living here. Because as you may have read on the board people have very different reactions to living here. And that way you will really know where you will want to invest if this is the island for you. Many people have easily blown throw their whole life savings. I waited a year before I bought my first house to get to know the market and not have to risk all my money on just one other person's advice.

Betty, .
You are really helping me formulate a sensible plan. Of course I want to sell off everything today and move there tomorrow. Not too wise . I'm not made of money.
A reasonable timetable for me ( & Christie) would be:
phase 1 downsize , find tenants for our home here, work like heck to save save save
phase 2 rent in STX for a year while looking for more permanent housing (I think our priorties should be safety followed by affordability- (terry sold me on cool breezes and sounds of the ocean too )
phase 3 sell both properties in Pa and and take the plunge into island ownership (I wish we had more positive equity- no such luck)
Part of the plan should involve us taking carpentry classes and getting some quality basic tools to bring. We've gutted the kitchen here twice in 7 years. As we speak 3 handymen/contractors have keys- that's how home-improvement crazy we are. Seems like we will be on our own down there. I know I can learn to tile and grout- I've seen some of the toothless wonders our contractors have brought here as helpers. If these guys can work power tools with last nights 80% proof breath, surely I can learn to create a masterpiece or two myself.

Trade,
I just finished making a few more notes in my VI notebook thanks to you. How did you get to be so smart? Appreciate you sharing.

To a poster, we ALL recommend moving first and renting fot 6 months to a year. Things are very different here and you need a while to decide if you want to stay.