help with location

Candy, PLEASE don't buy anything sight unseen! Every condo will be different, each may have it's own set of issues or not...but you owe it to yourself to make a quick trip and see what you are buying, especially if you intend to relocate eventually. You could do very well, or you could end up next to the dumpster location (which would be conveniently omitted in the description of the condo)...please make a visit to the islands and please find a real estate management company that matches what YOU want. It's a very different world.

Caribbean View Condos are located about an 8 minute drive west of the main town of Christiansted on St. Croix. They are close to another condo complex called St. C's by the Sea and also the gated community of Judith's Fancy. Caribbean View is a small complex (just 22 units total) and the units are also quite small and they do not really have ocean views beyond a glimpse at just the right angle. This complex has many long-time residents, both owners and tenants. Rents are low and the units vary greatly in condition. These are easy to rent long-term, but they aren't really vacation rental properties for the short-term market. The two units currently offered are from the same seller, who has done some refurbishment work to prep these condos for sale.

There have been times when I've sold condos and houses sight-unseen when the initial offer was made, but it is rare that the buyer doesn't come down to see the property within the first couple of weeks during the inspection period while it is still possible to cancel the transaction if they really found there were issues. If you are buying primarily as an investment and not as a place you would hope to live yourself someday, then buying sight-unseen is a bit more reasonable as long as you are working with a Realtor you trust not to steer you the wrong way. Insist on seeing a LOT of photos of the properties you consider, not just the ones included on the MLS listing since those are taken for marketing purposes and tend to highlight the positives and not any defects.

If you won't see the property in person, definitely pay the few hundred to have a formal inspection done. Photos and a Realtor walk through won't be enough to tell you if the electrical outlets and plumbing work, etc.

I would never spend big bucks on "sight unseen". Seems like if someone can afford to purchase property as investment, they might want to consider the investment of paying for airline tickets. Just told my son same thing.

promoguy - the Caribbean View condos are some of the least expensive available on STX. I can see them being interesting to investors as they aren't priced so high that you would be taking a huge loss every month. The rents may cover the expenses.

You're a real estate agent, right??

Alexandra,

I would like some more information regarding location. I would be interested in having you handle this. Please e-mail me.

Isn't the Caribbean View condo complex near the bridge between St Thomas and St Croix? I happen to know the owner of said bridge and she would be willing to sell it for a very reasonable price to anyone, sight-unseen. PM me if interested!!! 😀

I do appreciate "good humor.".......... but i prefer it on a stick and really cold. LOL Candy

Candy, I would bet you couldn't find 3 people on this board who would advise you to buy anything sight unseen. I will have to very strongly disagree with Alexandra on that one - no Realtor or real estate management company should be in charge of very nearly making the decision to purchase something as major as a rental or living quarters - it may not suit YOU in the long run, and you're the one with your money tied up in it. Unless you've got money to burn, I think I would be in a long line of folks telling you not to do this - of course, I am negative and blah, blah, blah.....but what we found was that island construction was very different from what we were used to. Even with a visit to see the property, whether I intended to live there or not, I would still want to come down periodically and take a look at my investment. No one will take care of your things like you will......and no one knows what you want but you.

Please do not even consider buying sight unseen. Real estate is never a 'sure thing'. It is at best, intelligent speculation.
Ask yourself why these condos are so cheap? St C Condos and Judiths Fancy were mentioned - both fairly desirable. What was not mentioned was the fact that If these condos are where I think they are, they are fairly close to a rather unpleasant housing project. In fact, one has to walk past the project to get to the beach.
If my memory has failed me and I am totally in error, then I shall spank myself...hard.
Again, sight unseen in a 'unique' market is an even worse idea than sight unseen in a familiar one.

Take a trip solely for the purpose of seeing what's on island! We spent 4 grueling days with a wonderful realtor, tromping over what seemed like every inch of the island from early morning to early evening!! Before our trip, we studied maps, pored over postings here, spent countless hours looking at the MLS and choosing properties to look at....and the pics on the MLS can indeed hide the lowlights of a property!! I took detailed notes at each property we visited and each evening, my husband and I collapsed oceanside with a few painkillers, to go over the day ,and plot our adventures for the next!!

It was incredibly exhausting...but definitely paid off! We found a beautiful rental villa that fit all our needs,,,and after a couple months of "back and forth" with the sellers and figuring out financing, and another couple months of updating the villa, we couldn't be happier with our choice!! Posters here were incredibly helpful every inch of the way! I amaze my husband with my "vinow wisdom"!! Good luck! PM me if I can be of any help!

Are these the units that are right next to the junior high school? If so I once looked at a studio unit there. It was $20,000, but the owner (who happened to live in my upstate NY town) was "very motivated" - I probably could have had it for $16,000.

I didn't buy it for a variety of reasons, and I DID look at it.

I'm curious where these are exactly too? We lived near St C- the other direction from Judith's Fancy - and this whole Princess area is rather questionable - if you understand (which I still don't) that 1/2 a block can be safe/"good" and 1/2 a block later its not!! And the junior high doesnt help- always heard of fights, guns, mini riots, etc. Then you have all these crack people that linger across from Manor School near the ruins and the people that hide in the bushes along the "condo row" where H20 and the Hibiscus Hotel is, the Cruzan Princess condos are- seriously SEVERAL incidences occured along this road where women and people were mugged, robbed, cars stolen... people come here to where the people with "money" are and make it a most unpleasant fearful living along the ocean I can think of!! And there's the one St C hotel that was wiped out by Hugo that sits between St C and Granada Del Mar condos - with heavens knows what going on there- we watched from our "oceanside pool" all kinds of shady people lingering there... and then behind that is the housing projects someone mentioned. So are these condo's along the main road after say, the Avis building or ?? I know Pelican Cove isnt that price range.
So that about covers the ocean views from Salt River around to Judiths Fancy down to Granada, Hibiscus, Palms, and Pelican Cove- then you have WAPA on the shore, another housing project, then down into C-sted harbor! ???

These are the directions to the Caribbean View complex - Turn off the N.Shore Rd. onto Judith's Fancy Rd.Take 2nd right before the gate to Judiths Fancy .take the second left (across from Jr.High School). Caribbean Condos are on the left.
This is not a good area at all - it bears no similarity whatsoever (IMHO) to either Judith's Fancy or ST Condos.
This would be an example (IMHO) of buying sight unseen being a really bad decision.
Yes, these are priced lower than anywhere else on StX - there is a very good reason for that!!!!!!!!

PS - the last unit to sell there was in 2005 I believe, and was on the market for over 1000 days.
I believe it sold for about 25K.

I haven't looked at these units for years, so I do not know their current condition. My impression is that they are a moderately low end residential community. I would not consider renting these to the vacation market. If you plan to live in the condo or rent it out long term, you will probably be able to keep your loses to a minimum. That is the market that they are suited to. Two units are currently listed on the real estate MLS One for slightly over 100K and the other for slightly under. I think those prices are a stretch. As others have pointed out, they were listed in the 20/30k range just two years ago. They might rent for $600 to $800 a month, but that is only because Hovensa has driven the rental market out of whack. If Hovensa ever leaves, rents will plummet.

They do not have an ocean view as the name implies. The surrounding neighborhood is not upscale and may be dangerous at night. If you are paying asking price, you will find other St Croix condos that will give you a better return on your investment.

All this is very confusing!!! Confusing, because it seems by implication from a real estate agent, that it MIGHT be okay to purchase these sight unseen.

I definitely didn't advise buying sight unseen. It does occur sometimes but is never the optimum way to go about a real estate purchase. It is still true, however, that many pure investors do often purchase all different kinds of real estate sight unseen. People who play the stock market also buy stocks without knowing much of anything about them. If analysis of the financial data appears to make a good case for investment, then some investors move forward with such a transaction.

The one bright side about that neighborhood is that the public housing that was across the street is closed down. Although it remains to be seen what will be dine with that building.

Holy COW! A condo for the price of an modest new car? SHUDDER. Now that sure sends my imagination to horrible places.

1. No you didn't advise, but you implied it would be okay.

2. Real Estate and stock investment do not generate the same type of risk, so the analogy doesn't really work.

3. Buying from Zappo's online is probably about the only thing I would suggest buying sight unseen.

Sorry, forgot one more thing.

4. LIQUIDITY - There is a VAST difference of calling your broker to make a trade in a minute for $10, versus listing your condo for 1000 days, at a negative cash flow, with a 6-7% hit plus closing costs.

promoguy - the poster stated that she and her husband had decided to make a purchase "sight unseen". I didn't suggest it or recommend it. I did suggest that she make sure she's working with someone she trusts and to demand LOTS of photos to "see" as much as possible if she isn't able to make a trip down. Neither you nor I know what the buyers situation is and if they do or don't have the ability to make a trip down if they chose to. The statement was that they wouldn't be coming down to see the island but were going to invest anyway. This does happen sometimes and it actually can work out OK in many cases. No, it's not optimum, but it's the buyer's prerogative to make that decision for her own reasons.

The stock market is FAR riskier than real estate investment. I've never lost $$ in real estate transactions but lost eighty percent of my portfolio value in the stock market when the market crashed 5-6 years ago.

The condo prices for this complex and others all over the island have definitely risen over the past few years. What something cost years ago doesn't change what it is worth in today's market. Everyone would love to buy condos today at prices from 2-5 years ago if they could then immediately re-sell them at today's real prices. But only Walmart rolls back prices and they don't sell real estate.

Yeah, well all that but how about Zappo's. Can you please comment on that one.

"But only Walmart rolls back prices and they don't sell real estate."

Hugo also rolled back prices and it took more than a decade for those price rollbacks to recover.