st.croix condos

We recently purchased a condo on St Croix on the east end at the Reef.

You need to visit St Croix and look at where the units are located an how they will fit into your life style and your budget.

Mill Harbor, Sugar Beach, Colony Club and several other complexes are located on what realtors refer to as condo row. Condo Row is convenient to downtown Christiansted and many of the condos are on the beach.

The downside to condo row, for some people, is that you have to drive through a low income housing project to get to condo row. There is also a serious problem with the sewer system in this part of town.

The local government hasn't corrected the sewer problem for several years even though the Feds are on their case. There is a silver lining to these clouds. Some owners are desperate to sell so you can negotiate one heck of a deal.

In our planning we figured that in the present market on St Croix it would take 9 - 12 months to sell our unit. If another big hurrican hits then we might have to allow three years to sell the condo.

Surf the real estate web sites then visit St Croix and form your own opinion. Don't expect to get much information from local realtors when you are stateside. Many people dream of moving to the USVI and few actually show up with check in hand.

Realtors are business people so they really won't consider you a hot prospect until you show up in person at their office.

Good luck

...Hey Donna Marie don't do anything too fast...Look around, ask questions, live here a while...then you can decide what is best for you....Jim has looked around and discovered some of the truth. There are some terrific bargains on St Croix condos. But every bargain has a "downside". The condo row units are on a gorgeous beach, but the sewer sysytem has been ignored by the USVI Senate so the water is "unswimable" some times during the year. Shame on you usvi senate... You must also deal with neighbors who live in the "projects". The management for these government units has recently been taken away from the USVI government and replaced by federal "regulators" because of local incompetence and fraud.. I think this is good, but I don't know yet. Farther north there are some condos with good beaches and great views that have some real potential for appreciation. Security is the issue here. The west end has the greatest beaches, but the worst security, or they would have prices like St John.

On the "east end" there are some units that are "moderatly priced" but have VERY high condo fees that include storm insurance and " previous assesments" that push their condo fees to more than $12,000 per year. Incidently, many of the condo's with lower fees are going UNINSURED, that means that if they suffer hurricane damage they must rebuild with their own money, (yours). BUT...I would still buy a condo on St Croix because it is BARGAIN compared to other areas in the Caribbean. AND I love St Croix....
b

Donna Marie: If you have never visited, would strongly urge you to rent for a period to get a feeling for life (very different) and places to live! Don't be too hasty!

Thanks everyone for your input. I appreciate it. We are planning on going there and looking around and staying awhile before we decide for sure. Does anyone know exactly how bad the sewer problems are?? And why they are desperate to sell?? Thanks again- donna marie

Search the back issues of the Virgin Island Daily News.

It is available on line, but I'm not sure how far you can go back.

http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/

Hope this helps.

Peter