No condo Financing??

If they "self insure" the mortgage companies won't finance.

Not all are self insured, however but LF is correct that you cannot get financing for ones that are self insured.

I believe I still have a list of those that are and are not self insured. It had most of the costs associated with each condo association. May not be 100% up to date, but was pretty current. Message me your email address and if I have it, I will forward to you. I got it from my realtor when I was doing my research.

Sent. THANKS !!!

I sent it, but now realize your looking at STT, not STX. Sorry about that, maybe a realtor on STT would have the same info.

On St. Thomas, check with Merchant's Bank. They do mortgages for self-insured associations.

Financing seems to be hard to get. That said there was one just financed at STC Condos.

Hey Don1923:

So we *just* bought our unit at Cowpet Bay West and this was the gig with us - The STRUCTURE is insured through the condo association/dues. From the interior wall IN, we insure on our own, basically anything that isn't nailed down. Because our condo sits DIRECTLY on the water, there were flood issues with the first two lenders. We were able to get financing, after three tries, through Sun West but it was an EPIC journey of them prying into every single nook and cranny of our lives. I've bought and sold many, many homes and I've never seen anything like it - and neither had the lawyers. It took six months from application to closing and they were still requesting info up to the 11th hour. We almost gave up several times, but had waited 8 years for this particular unit to come on the market and so we sucked it up and got through it.

Feel free to PM me if you need more info! good luck!

--Pam 😎

I've dealt with SunWest, horrible service. The fees were almost double what the other lender gave us. Wanted points, other lender none. Beware of this company, google them and their customer reviews and ratings. Those should be enough to keep you away. I guess if it was the condo you wanted and they were the only one, then you had to do what you had to do, but for a normal purchase, I would just stay away as we almost lost the home we wanted due to the continuous screw ups.

Nothing ever goes like it did previously I guess when you move to an island.

The only island I ever lived on was Japan, lol. DoD took care of my housing.

I just want things to go smoothly.
I'm thinking to avoid a huge mistake, I will rent first and just hire the best lawyer and broker I can find so I can avoid the headaches. I'm moving to get away from stress and headaches. I don't wanna walk right into more.
Any thoughts???

I'm thinking to avoid a huge mistake, I will rent first and just hire the best lawyer and broker I can find so I can avoid the headaches. I'm moving to get away from stress and headaches. I don't wanna walk right into more.
Any thoughts???

You've been told by several people on a couple of threads that even thinking of purchasing real property here (condo or house or anything else) before living here for at LEAST a year (and my recommendation is at least 2) is a bad move. You're being told this because there are people on this forum with many years of experience watching newcomers come and go and recognize this as a major pitfall. Don't think you can get away from stress and headaches here any more than you can get away from them anywhere else but they'll be hugely magnified if you leap into buying. Find yourself a comfortable rental space and forget about investing in real estate for a few years.

daveb - yeah...but ridiculously low interest rate.

I take advice with pleasure. Been studying the real estate market for over 25 years and USVI real estate for about the last 2. I make money doing it so I'll consult lawyers and brokers going forward.

Anyone who says "you've been told" what to do should probably go find something to do themselves. It's just bad communication skills.
But thanks for all the information, it's been quite enlightening to say the least.

Anyone who says "you've been told" what to do should probably go find something to do themselves. It's just bad communication skills.

"Advised" would of course have been a better choice and I sincerely apologize for my lack of communication skills. I hope your plans work out and won't bother you further with any poorly communicated advice. 😀

@pammerjo - the rates were the same for me, they wanted over 3 points as I was going to use it as an investment property. I used Chris from Cliffco, same rate no points and loan committed to in 3 days. In 5 weeks, I couldn't get a commitment from Sunwest. Chris was awesome, what he promised me, happened. Couldn't have been happier. Plus like I said the fees were about 1/2, so it was a win win for me.

Nice..Good info.

With any condo the HOA will insure the common element structure (whether self insured or not) and the owner is responsible for insuring the unit inside the walls. Then there are details that your insurer may require but your HOA might be responsible for like hurricane shutters, depending on the situation. Our HOA goes through a detailed eval/inspection with the insurance co. every year and with keeping everything up to date we've been able to hold the rates or even lower them a bit.

I am new on this forum but have been reading for quite awhile! I have to say I love Old Tart already!

With any condo the HOA will insure the common element structure (whether self insured or not) and the owner is responsible for insuring the unit inside the walls. Then there are details that your insurer may require but your HOA might be responsible for like hurricane shutters, depending on the situation. Our HOA goes through a detailed eval/inspection with the insurance co. every year and with keeping everything up to date we've been able to hold the rates or even lower them a bit.

Unless your condo is a stand alone unit (single family structure). Some HOA's insure the outside of those, some require the owner to purchase insurance separately, as ours currently does.

AKA Villa Madeleine

I am new on this forum but have been reading for quite awhile! I have to say I love Old Tart already!

Yeah....She's OK.