ISO house to buy

I’m probably stating the obvious but have you contacted a realtor?  My wife and I just went through the process of purchasing a home on the island while we currently live in New England.  Not sure how we would have done it without some on island assistance.  From experience, houses look very different in person than they do on the internet.

LOL....Jaldeborg we are indeed in contact with an on Island realtor. We sold our house in NC before it ever actually went on the market by responding to an outreach just like I made...I was hoping that MAYBE Someone on here would know something before our realtor did?. BTW who did you use as a realtor and would you recommend them? And give me all the gory deets of what kind of house you were looking for,of how long did it take to find it, any negotiating room in price, etc,etc,etc...we have our first on island house hunting visit next week to lay actual eyes on properties that have only been virtual so far and am SURE we are going to get to experience that “difference”.

Lammon3b,

When you say you are not afraid of a fixer upper - that's a good thing, because there are PLENTY of those available, but lots of times not at the price you'd expect. I think a lot of properties on the Island are perpetually for sale in case someone just might offer the asking price. My guess is anyone that really does want to sell will allow for quite a bit of negotiation room on the asking price. The BIG thing you need to understand is that almost any renovation you do will cost WAY more than the same would cost back on the mainland (especially now). If you're into DIY that will that help a lot, because finding good contractors (at a reasonable price) is unlikely. Materials, especially now, are top dollar - when you can find them. Depending on how much you need it can actually be cheaper to buy it on the mainland and ship it over.

So, be aware when you're looking for places that what looks like a $25K reno will likely be closer to $50K and probably take quite a bit longer than you'd expect. I just got done a hurricane damage reno that I had expected would be about $75K (and take 6 months), but actually spent over $125K and took a year to complete! 

As they say "Island time" and "Island Costs" are NOT what they are on the mainland - so beware of that when making your offer on a property that needs work.

Good luck - because when it's all over - it IS worth it!

Lammom3b, sorry for not responding sooner.  We used Coldwell Banker in Christiansted, a young lady named Kali.  She grew up on the island and seems to know almost everyone.  Easy to deal with and my wife got on well, which was important.  I think the biggest thing we struggled with was both finding a property that met our requirements and was in great condition.  We’re nearing retirement and were looking for a turnkey situation.  The house we purchased met all our requirements but it was literally only on the market one week.  I have a feeling the good ones go quickly.  As for pricing, it depends on where the asking price is versus market.  We offered roughly 10% below asking but felt the home was fairly priced.  After we closed we had an independent replacement cost analysis done, for insurance purposes, and this confirmed our offer was almost exactly right.