Do I need a busines license?

I believe so. Call the VI business department.

Thank you Bil
Deidre

Yes you do!

I would absolutely NOT get the licence until forced to do so. If you ask at Licencing & Consumer Affairs, they'll tell you that you need a licence to brush your teeth in the morning. And you might also need a licences for application of the paste and hazardous waste disposal (spitting). Of course there are fees for everything too. Depending on exactly what you're doing and the people at L&CA you are dealing with, it can be a royal pain in the butt to get a business licence (not just in the VI, but many other places).

I've learned the hard way to NOT pop the top on cans labeled "Worms".

This is a pretty straightforward question and you should be able to get an answer over the phone. I would guess not, but there are plenty of people who have rentals on this board who have more info than I.

If you are treating it as a business and are going to file VI taxes yes, but if its just the one property and you aren't a resident then I would avoid getting a license.

you could hire one of the many property management firms here on island & they could handle EVERYTHING from showing, background checking, renting, fixing & rent collection. They have a fee, but no hassles for you!! Plus NO BUSINESS LICENCE!

Just a little humble advice, short term rentals do not do that well on stx. There are a few developments like villa madeleine or gentle winds that do better then others but once april or may hits it gets very hard to fill them again until season starts. And then the costs to turn them over, like housekeeping and damages, not to mention wapa really eat into what you make. Its much easier to rent long term here. You might actually break even or make a small profit with long term. With high condo fees the best you can really hope to do it to break even. Again it all depends on your complex and location and quality of the unit. And you can always rent out another unit in your complex with your profit.

To me it would seem like a huge nightmare to try to rent it out long distance. If you do go for short term I would highly recommend a property manager. Usually they take 25% for short term rentals. But getting the reservations, getting them to your condo, making sure the condo is completely ready and damage free when they leave and getting it cleaned and making sure the unit is maintained is alot of work.

I can pretty much guarantee you will not break even with a short term rental, but I'm sure it would give you 3 to 6 months of paid mortgage. Or it may not if you plan to be a snowbird and visit in the best months.

I've never heard of anyone getting a business license to rent out their own condo. I wouldn't worry about that at all.