FEMA or refinery workers looking for housing

I'll be looking to sell my house once I get done with the insurance settlement and renovations in the next year. I'm delighted that real estate prices are rising and I hope they go through the roof. Although we'll still have a presence here in some way, it's almost time to cash out.

Cha ching!

Oh boy, 3 new condos for sale today on STX and a 4th back on market. Get'm while their hot.

Been visiting & watching for past 3 years. It’s all good. We are still buying, coming down end of month to finally decide. Couldn’t pull it off til now. Not anyone’s fault but ours semi-bad market timing. We’ve watched the prices rise & knew well about the contractors & Limetree opening the refinery. My “sad” comment was in reference to the “gouging” that is currently happening in the rental market & the morality of it. I am a capitalist, we own businesses, but we don’t and wouldn’t do that, & we could, because we believe in integrity as a core business practice. So no whining here. Good Karma to all. See ya soon on the beach.

Been visiting & watching for past 3 years. It’s all good. We are still buying, coming down end of month to finally decide. Couldn’t pull it off til now. Not anyone’s fault but ours semi-bad market timing. We’ve watched the prices rise & knew well about the contractors & Limetree opening the refinery. My “sad” comment was in reference to the “gouging” that is currently happening in the rental market & the morality of it. I am a capitalist, we own businesses, but we don’t and wouldn’t do that, & we could, because we believe in integrity as a core business practice. So no whining here. Good Karma to all. See ya soon on the beach.

That's great, best of luck finding a place.

I just had to "level set" somebody yesterday that I met online. (Our condo is being rented and managed professionally because we need to be in the states for a while.)

This person has a budget of $1500. I explained that since our HOA + insurance is over $1200 month, plus a budget for maintenance items, and the broker/manager's cut, that $1500 would be taking a loss. It's not gouging if you're just trying to break even and make a little $$ before you take it over full time.

Tired of hearing the "price gouging" remarks. The market, supply and demand, is what is determining the rental rates being offered by both Realtors and potential renters. And don't try to convince anyone that, if you owned a rental property, that you would say "oh no I insist on renting for less". So get a life and quit whining.

Again, us landlords are simply accepting rates determined by the current market. This only likely last for 18 months while the refinery is being rebuilt. Then the sales and rental prices will be back in line with what they were before the refinery closed down before.

Part of what we're seeing on STX is the post-recession rise in real estate that is about 5 years behind the mainland. Also, don't discount the effect of the hurricanes and how they impacted the quantity and quality of available real estate for purchase or lease on all three islands.

Rents will find new norm once the refinery opens but will remain higher than before the storms. Particularly since younger adults have a preference for renting so far.

Tired of hearing the "price gouging" remarks. The market, supply and demand, is what is determining the rental rates being offered by both Realtors and potential renters. And don't try to convince anyone that, if you owned a rental property, that you would say "oh no I insist on renting for less". So get a life and quit whining.

Again, us landlords are simply accepting rates determined by the current market. This only likely last for 18 months while the refinery is being rebuilt. Then the sales and rental prices will be back in line with what they were before the refinery closed down before.

I just had to "level set" somebody yesterday that I met online. (Our condo is being rented and managed professionally because we need to be in the states for a while.)

This person has a budget of $1500. I explained that since our HOA + insurance is over $1200 month, plus a budget for maintenance items, and the broker/manager's cut, that $1500 would be taking a loss. It's not gouging if you're just trying to break even and make a little $$ before you take it over full time.

Yeah, that looks all too familiar.

Part of what we're seeing on STX is the post-recession rise in real estate that is about 5 years behind the mainland. Also, don't discount the effect of the hurricanes and how they impacted the quantity and quality of available real estate for purchase or lease on all three islands.

Rents will find new norm once the refinery opens but will remain higher than before the storms. Particularly since younger adults have a preference for renting so far.

And if we are lucky and there is reasonable continued demand and stable economy and government we'll get some new investments for some moderate priced options that others than the rich and famous can afford. I'd love to see the old STX by the Sea property re-built into condos or even small hotel. OK maybe I should wake up now.

Condos in STX have very HOA fees compared to the mainland so that definitely contributes to the sticker shock of renters. They may see that a condo that sells for 125k and think the monthly rental should be really low but a monthly condo fee of 800 on top of mortgage, tax and insurance drives the price. The price of paradise :).

As an aside, I have one of those STX 2/2 condos (East End) available in late Sept for long term rental. Feel free to PM me if interested.

Part of what we're seeing on STX is the post-recession rise in real estate that is about 5 years behind the mainland. Also, don't discount the effect of the hurricanes and how they impacted the quantity and quality of available real estate for purchase or lease on all three islands.

Rents will find new norm once the refinery opens but will remain higher than before the storms. Particularly since younger adults have a preference for renting so far.

Another reason why we could buy now is that the price on our stateside house went up and available inventory dropped just at the right time. We had an offer on our stateside place within HOURS of it being listed for sale.