Thinking of Buying a Home in Tabor & Harmony

It is fairly centrally located - more convenient to the East End than town - some moderately rough roads, some not - some really steep terrain but in such a wide and varied estate that is not unusual - mostly North facing and some Easterly views - can have some windy exposures.
Your earlier Questions about becoming a Real Estate Broker - buying a rental house in Fortuna ----- suggest that you haven't spent much time here and that you are not familiar with the island in general so it makes it harder to answer your question -- What do you really want to know?? --- It is not really a " neighborhood " environment " similar to most peoples stateside perspectives in very many places on STT overall - here you need to think of many other factors, since there is often a Million dollar home adjacent to much simpler houses or covenants in the deed that get ignored or abused or enforced selectively.
A good relationship with a longtime resident Real Estate Broker can answer your concerns here much more knowledgeably than a random forum - as helpful as the respondents here are it can only ever supply you with a minuscule part of the info involved in a property transaction from afar.
You are self described as a successful Real Estate Broker would you suggest online hearsay as a good option to a buyer or seller??

As previous poster said, where you want to live is dependent on different things here on St. Thomas. View, distance from work, road to the home, size of lot, steepness of lot. Some views from Tabor and Harmony are spectacular - down island views. It is a quiet neighborhood if you are not on the main road. Short drive to Tutu and a short drive to the east end. Specifically what do you want to know?

Your earlier Questions about becoming a Real Estate Broker - buying a rental house in Fortuna ----- suggest that you haven't spent much time here and that you are not familiar with the island in general so it makes it harder to answer your question -- What do you really want to know?? --- It is not really a " neighborhood " environment " similar to most peoples stateside perspectives in very many places on STT overall - here you need to think of many other factors, since there is often a Million dollar home adjacent to much simpler houses or covenants in the deed that get ignored or abused or enforced selectively.

You are self described as a successful Real Estate Broker would you suggest online hearsay as a good option to a buyer or seller??

Thanks Exit! I have extensively done my research and even did a quick visit to check out different neighborhoods. Just want other folks honese opinions, guess I should have said that upfront.

Being a successful Real Estate Broker , I would suggest online hearsay as one factor in purchasing or knowing about an area.

As with a realtor, their main goal is really not your exact goal, bottom line is to sell you something to make a commission. On a chat board like this, people can be free to express their open opinions on an area, just as many gave me advice on Fortuna that I would not have received from a realtor and even a visit. So yes, I find these chat boards to be a great tool to hear people's opinions on an area. In my own neighborhood, there is discussion of doing a water pipeline from our aquifer and shipping the water to the city. I think many real estate agents may not disclose or may know about that issue. Maybe if we had a chat board like this, people could say hey, you may have a dry well in a few yrs. Or the wells wont dry up and now the prices are so cheap because of all the publicity, grab a home!

As with a realtor, their main goal is really not your exact goal, bottom line is to sell you something to make a commission. On a chat board like this, people can be free to express their open opinions on an area, just as many gave me advice on Fortuna that I would not have received from a realtor and even a visit. So yes, I find these chat boards to be a great tool to hear people's opinions on an area. In my own neighborhood, there is discussion of doing a water pipeline from our aquifer and shipping the water to the city. I think many real estate agents may not disclose or may know about that issue.

Hi Skighee, and thanks for opening the thread!

Re your quote above, I think a *good* realtor, not just a successful one, would try to give you good advice and would disclose all that s/he knows, even at the risk of losing a commission. That has been my experience in dealing with realtors both here and elsewhere over several years. It's true that a realtor may not know everything, and sometimes you get a bad apple, but I am especially impressed with the knowledge and integrity of some of the realtors I've encountered here in the USVI. While no doubt it happens here and elsewhere sometimes, steering a person wrong would be pretty short-sighted and would tend to undermine ones business. Ultimately, it is a pretty cozy and limited community of buyers, sellers, and realtors.

So, IMHO, you should add a local realtor to your team. Such a person would likely provide valuable additional information.

Best of luck and lots of fun with your search,

Islandlola

Hi Skighee, and thanks for opening the thread!

Re your quote above, I think a *good* realtor, not just a successful one, would try to give you good advice and would disclose all that s/he knows, even at the risk of losing a commission. That has been my experience in dealing with realtors both here and elsewhere over several years. It's true that a realtor may not know everything, and sometimes you get a bad apple, but I am especially impressed with the knowledge and integrity of some of the realtors I've encountered here in the USVI. While no doubt it happens here and elsewhere sometimes, steering a person wrong would be pretty short-sighted and would tend to undermine ones business. Ultimately, it is a pretty cozy and limited community of buyers, sellers, and realtors.

So, IMHO, you should add a local realtor to your team. Such a person would likely provide valuable additional information.

Best of luck and lots of fun with your search,

Islandlola

I have enlisted one, he was a fraternity brother of mine back in college, and has been great, while I still value his opinions, I love hearing what others have to say too! Too much information is always better that too little info.

With that being said, how about we change this post to what are your favorite estates to live and your least favorite estates, why they are your favorite or least favorite, and what makes that estate so special?

 

Nazareth is a nice and diverse, dry and fairly flat estate - you might like Water Point - seems like a good neighborhood.

Skighee,

You are right about asking here and not wanting to rely only on a real estate agent's opinion.

As an fyi, These forums are frequented by real estate agents. Now you see them posting their name and not hiding behind an anonymous ID. Some will still hide behind an ID, and you got those that report others for failing to disclose their an agent. One of those who frequently reports infractions to the local board of realtors posts here daily. One would think they have making income on their mind than reading chat boards to see what their fellow real estate agents are posting.

I truly believe the real estate agents here in the islands make the "housewives" on Bravo look like chump change. IMHO you're doing the right thing by asking opinions of non real estate agents.

lol...you need to hang out with some of the restaurant crowd if you think the realtors are bad. Seriously I call many of them in stx friend and really value their opinion. I was surprised how laid back and nice they are. There are definitely some sharks and some incompetence but for the most part I've been really impressed with the stx realtors compared to stateside. It takes a long time of building up relationships to be able to make even a living wage selling real estate here.

Stt real estate market has always seemed better, more expensive and had a smaller inventory with things moving quickly then ours so maybe it was easier there and you can get away with more there to make it. Here everyone knows who has a horrible reputation.

There are definitely some sharks and some incompetence but for the most part I've been really impressed with the stx realtors compared to stateside.

My experience is with STT, but I have to agree with Betty. While I have definitely crossed a few nightmare USVI realtors off my list, some realtors stateside make even USVI "shark" realtors look like tiny goldfish.

Here everyone knows who has a horrible reputation.

I would say ditto regarding STT. I have been to parties where the running gag was how bad some realtors are. No secrets in this regard. Similarly, everybody knows the good ones. The same could be said of lawyers, dentists, and other professionals. As they say at Disneyland: it's a small, small world.

Bottom line: get all the information you can from all the places you can, and critically evaluate each piece of data. Can't go wrong that way (or rather, you still could, but at least you'd have done your homework.)

Best,

Ilo

Nazareth is a nice and diverse, dry and fairly flat estate - you might like Water Point - seems like a good neighborhood.

I have already sold 48 homes in 2009, but my budget my not support that area, although amazing, let me re-phrase that...I was not a hedge fund manager? What are some other estates? Still want to hear more scoop on Tabor and Harmony....we are down to earth folks and just want to meet some people that are like us and dont mind living near other avg Joes.

Many Average Joes and Janes! live in Estate Nazareth - I mentioned Water Point to emphasize the wide diversity that is evident in any Estate - and you had asked that we " change this post" and I was moving in that direction.

Those that are trying to help said, Tabor Harmony is nice but it is a big area - so like Nazareth Estate it has diverse properties - What is the question you are asking?