real estate

We bought back in 1995. Our 0.29 acre lot cost $61,000, which was a huge amount of money for us at that time. Our neighbor just got $355,000 for their 0.25 acre lot that does not have as good a view as ours does. We can't believe the appreciation, especially in the last year. Who knows when it will stop or even slow.

It is amazing. After the technology collapse, I don't take anything for granted. I guess the facts are clear: limited supply, U.S. territory, gorgeous views. They were probably undervalued when you bought and are now catching up with state-side prices which are high--and going higher-- for beach properties. Are you planning to build? if so, how are you tackling those daunting details?

"Are you planning to build? if so, how are you tackling those daunting details?"

We are planning to build. Second generation prints go out to the G.C. and Stone Mason on Monday. I have already had my first meeting with the DPNR (VI Planning Commission). This will be a long process. Maybe by mid 2005 we will be ready for short term rentals.

St John is a great place, but things do move at a very slow pace. Anyone who is interested in building needs to look at this as a 2-3 year process. The building boom is so strong right now that it hard to get contractors to focus on a new job.

Wow. That takes a lot of planning. Is it less expensive to build than to buy an existing property? I hear the build quotes can start at one place and escalate quickly depending on the property. That is scary. How did you chose an architect and builder? Thanks.

In most cases it is less expensive to buy an existing vs building. However, it was difficult for us to find what we were looking for. The short term rental market has changed so much in the last ten years. We wanted a very open floor plan, stone construction, small plunge pool, and high ceilings. Our lot is zoned R-2, so we can put 2 buildings on it . Our first building will be a one bedroom guest cottage with an extra sleeping loft. The rental market will now support $2,000 - $2,500 / week for this type of rental if it is new and has a pool and is private.

One of my neighbors, who will also be my General Contractor, gets $4,200 / week for 2 bedrooms because his house is new (late 90's) and has a pool with a great view of Cruz Bay.

There are plenty of good architects on the island. My wife and I spent some time with Glen Speer (architect , builder and part owner of Mongoose Junction). I had a local architect put our ideas on paper and then had Glen review them. The process has been a blast because we are not in a rush. In July a friend and I spent 5 days camping on the lot. Our goal was to clear the foot print for the guest house and check the topo survey details. The site was actually a little flatter than expected, so back to my local architect for second generation prints.

KC, what are your plans? Let me know if you want the name of a good real estate agent to work with.

We bought a lot earlier this year and have marveled at the crazy market. We will hold it for several years and then we'll make a decision to build or buy something existing, but we'd like to live down there part time. We took about 6 months to make a decision on the land, and in that time, prices kept going up. We should have grabbed something on our first buying trip but we were being picky. In the end, we got something we like. We want to build something small, but quality, with lots of stone and character. Maybe 1,200 square feet. Nothing huge like some of those palaces down there we've seen!
What kind of price are you being quoted per square foot? I hear that can vary a lot. What do you think is realistic?

KC,

Congrats on your purchase. I'm expecting to pay between $300 and $325 / sq ft. That's why we kept the guest house (first of 2 potential structures) to just under 800 sqft.

The stone work will be the major component of the cost. My stone mason bases his quote on $28 / ft (total surface of all walls, including windows and doors). Prints are on the way to him now so he can work me up some solid costs.

Thanks for the info! We figured that awesome stone work had to cost ! Of course, we want to include that as well--at least one wall in each room to add to the ambiance. We're hoping prices stabilize somewhat on construction since we can't build for awhile.
E-mail me with your progress. I'd love to hear how things really go when you build.
Thanks.