What is Willie's Wish?

Never, never, never buy a house that close to the ocean unless you're very wealthy. The corrosion and storm surge is a killer.

Depends on the definition of "very wealthy", I guess? I grew up near the Atlantic and understand home & possession maintenance in salt air pretty well (though admittedly, depending on cisterns does complicate matters a bit).

Moving to an island and being more than a hop skip and a jump from the ocean is counterintuitive to me personally. I realize you're never really very far away on STX/in the Vi, and of course I know that lots of people prefer the long views, but for me it's "closer the better". I want to hear the waves!

This was always one of my favorite houses on STX...until I went inside. In Rooms not shown in the Zillow photos I remember dark wood plank floors. My recollection is a lot of dark wood. And small bedrooms. The property is nice as is the location. I still love it from outside. Inside not so much.

You can hear the waves without being right on or across from the water.
I do and I'm about 500 ft above.
In my location, I've got the sounds of the ocean, the birds, crickets and coquis (frogs). When I first moved in my new house, it took me a couple nights to figure out what the new sound was as my previous home was at a 900 ft. altitude, and not as close to the ocean as I am now.

We are a few hundred feet from the ocean on a small hill and we are not wealthy. We just have to do constant wipe down of electronics and table tops

This was always one of my favorite houses on STX...until I went inside. In Rooms not shown in the Zillow photos I remember dark wood plank floors. My recollection is a lot of dark wood. And small bedrooms. The property is nice as is the location. I still love it from outside. Inside not so much.

Yeah that's actually what I suspected, to be honest. I actually love dark wood floors but I bet the wraparound porch makes the house feel dark inside, at least on the lower level.

Late to the party on this thread, but Willie's Wish is one of the most special locations on the island. That house is a well-known landmark on the north shore.

However, I'd never consider actually living there, because:

Never, never, never buy a house that close to the ocean unless you're very wealthy. The corrosion and storm surge is a killer.

You absolutely nailed it! It is almost unbelievable how badly and quickly the salt air destroys EVERYTHING when you live on the beach. I used to live right on the beach next to Good Hope School and the salt became enemy #1.

Also, don't forget the lack of privacy. The beaches in the USVI are all open to the public, and you can count on strangers strolling across "your" section of beach more than you'd think.

Also: bugs and rodents. Lots and lots o' dem!. When I lived right on the beach at Little Princess, I saw more rats, roaches and centipedes then at any other place onisland. It was honestly ridiculous! I actually woke to a roach on my pillow one night. About a month later, a mouse crawled on top of the covers! Never again!

If you've got the money to buy Willie's Wish, a far, far better bet is a sweet place in the hills. You get a much better view, much reduced salt and corrosion issues and a fresh breeze that keeps the bugs at bay. Not to mention privacy! Sure, you aren't next to the ocean, but a modest swimming pool gives you the best of both worlds. Besides, you can always drive to the beach! It's never more than ten minutes away and its always free. Why pay for it?

About two weeks ago a new (think it was new) STX episode of HGTV aired. An older couple was looking at a home less than a mile west of Willies, across the street, literally inches from the ocean. Looked to be no more than 6'-8' above sea level, windy, ocean spray blowing against the house on every incoming wave, and the sea looked to be it's usual 2'-4'.
My wife and I cringed. Don't know how old the house was, but signs of decay (rusty streaks, faded tile, saggy ceiling fan blades, ect...) were obvious. In the end, they choose to purchase that one. They looked wholly unprepared for what they were getting themselves into.
I've been a surfer for thirty years and have seen the ocean/sea in many lights. As much as I love it, I know how quickly something so beautiful can turn to Hell. I've worked a lifetime to afford a beautiful view of it today from a thousand feet inland, and 200' above sea level. It takes 5 minutes to walk to a short, thin stretch of sand where I can be completly alone if I choose. I can hear the waves, smell the sea, see the fish jumping, enjoy the most incredible sunsets god has ever produced, all from a safe distance. With all that said, I have absolutly no desire to be any closer to it.
As stated earlier, ocean front living is for the wealthy. If I could afford several homes, be able to take a huge financial hit when the Sea swallows it, pay huge amounts for constant maintenance, well...

About two weeks ago a new (think it was new) STX episode of HGTV aired. An older couple was looking at a home less than a mile west of Willies, across the street, literally inches from the ocean. Looked to be no more than 6'-8' above sea level, windy, ocean spray blowing against the house on every incoming wave, and the sea looked to be it's usual 2'-4'.

I think it was the house next door to 2dive4.

I thought willies was owned (or at least lived in) by the guys running the Fred?

Great guys, I went to a house party of theirs at Willies Wish; amazing property... maybe they just rented it?

it's certainly one of the nicer properties on north shore.

As far as I know Robert still owns Willies Wish.

I thought willies was owned (or at least lived in) by the guys running the Fred?

Great guys, I went to a house party of theirs at Willies Wish; amazing property... maybe they just rented it?

it's certainly one of the nicer properties on north shore.

This place in STT would be listed for $1.5M and probably sold fast.

Probably more.

I thought willies was owned (or at least lived in) by the guys running the Fred?

Great guys, I went to a house party of theirs at Willies Wish; amazing property... maybe they just rented it?

it's certainly one of the nicer properties on north shore.

They bought the house next door to Willie's from our friends.
Robert still owns Willie's Wish and lives in Panama.

Probably more.

Why such a price delta between this two islands?
I understand the unique appeal of STJ. But STT v STX seems like a wash in terms of appeal. Construction costs should be similar. Is land that much more expensive in STT?

STX is twice the size of STT with the same population.

Land is more readily available thus it is lower in cost.

That Econ 101 class comes in handy every once in a while.

Housing prices are still down from the market collapse in 2008 and on top of that we had the refinery closing which put a lot of houses on the market. But things are improving and the number of homes for sale as shrunk considerably. Asking prices seem to be creeping up. Then there was that threat a while back where the owner of the Eat and Cane Bay Dive Shop property next door and the property along the beach across the street wanted to reroute the road to behind his property so he could develop it more.

singlefin, I saw that episode too. That house looked to me to have been somewhat neglected.

Curious: How far above sea level do you guys think Willie's Wish is?

I'm hearing and comprehending everyone's points!
If we bought a house like this, we'd anticipate spending another $15-20k annually on maintenance. Does that sound sufficient based on local labor, materials, and the salt/sun/humidity toll?

That's what we budget for maintaining our current home on the mainland, with the added burden of massive property tax bills on top of it. And it's 47 degrees and raining here right now.

Curious: How far above sea level do you guys think Willie's Wish is?

I'd guess the first floor is maybe at 10-15ft

Try Google Earth.
ItS elevations are close to accurate by my property.
I remember it being at a higher grade than that, and set back a good distance, away from the road / water across the road.

I did but there's a big cloud roghtnoverbthe house!! Lol

There is a "History" tab on Google Earth that will go backwards in time about 15 years. There should be, probably 4 or 5 different views of it from over the years. I would guess they'd have to be at least one image available without cloud cover.

Ooh thanks! I did not know that. (tu)

Seems as though my beloved Willies Wish may have been sold?

Drove by today and there's no for sale sign & both the real estate listings and the VRBO listings appear to have been taken down.

Can any STX realtors confirm?

It was sold a couple months ago. It is not a B&B that I'm aware of.