Danger Will Robinson – Shameless Self promotion Ahead – Hey, we gots to eat!

For just $29.99/month per agent or $49.99/month for an agency you can add your profile to our new St. Thomas Real Estate Page. It’s a first come first serve basis so the early adopters we’ll be at the top of the page.

Our blog receives over 3000 visits a day, many who look to move here and from locals looking to buy.

Any questions email me at scott@stthomasblog.com.

Click here to see the page: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=4601

Here’s what the ads will look like:

Agent: Karen Korsgren

Phone: 340-514-4730

Email: islandrealestate@joimail.com

Website: http://www.buysellvi.com

Do you need help finding a qualified St. Thomas Real Estate Agent or help finding a home or apartment rental?

To be listed on this page email me at scott@stthomasblog.com.

Agent: Karen Korsgren,

Phone: 340-514-4730

Email: islandrealestate@joimail.com

Website: http://www.buysellvi.com

A cistern is simply a holding tank for the water you use in your St. Thomas house. In St. Thomas the homes don’t tap into city water, heck no. We have a gutter system that funnels water down into our cisterns. Here’s what they look like:

Opening in floor:

Water starting to come in because it’s raining:

Cistern filling up:

Cistern cover closed:

After a few years (about every 4 years or so) you’ll need to have your cistern cleaned because, well, they get disgusting. Many people don’t clean their cistern on a regular basis and you can imagine all the gunk, bacteria and other creatures that get in them. Here’s what we found upon cleaning our cistern:

A live green iguana…yuck!  But we released him, run…be free…

Thank god we have a water filtration system! Which by the way I highly recommend. Ours includes a charcoal, and micron filter and a UV Light for the bacteria.

Here is the cleaning process.

1. Felix takes all water out of the cistern you’re cleaning and moves it into my second cistern (if you only have 1 cistern they can move the water to another holding tank they bring):

2. Then Felix climbs down the black hole of death:

3. Once inside the black hole of death he manually goes around and sucks up all the disgusting muck until it’s all gone.

4. Then he power washes the entire cistern to clean it.

5. Then Felix climbed out…

Um, he looked disgusting, what a good sport He said: “Scott, it was very dirty”, coming from him with all his experience he really meant: Scott, I hate you for this job…thanks!

6. They are done for today, tomorrow they come back and Thereseal the cistern (put a sealant on any small cracks).

7. Then they wait a day and put a second coat of Thereseal on.

8. Then we have to wait a minimum of 5 days before any water can go back in that cistern. So Felix has to close the gutter drains so no water gets in and come back and open them about a week later.

Tough job!

If you need your cistern cleaned call Felix at 340-514-5055 and tell him Scott White sent you.

Before you read on make sure to read Moving To St. Thomas Part 1 and Moving To St. Thomas Part 2 and Moving To St. Thomas US Virgin Islands – Everything You Need To Know. I’ll wait…

…I hope you had a chance to read all the comments, over 200 of them because most of the answers are there.

So here we go

1. How much money do I need to live in St. Thomas? Who the heck knows? What’s your lifestyle like? Here’s what we do know, St. Thomas is expensive. Everything comes in on a container so it’s all marked up, a beach chair that sells in the states for $30 is $50 here. A gallon of milk can run you $7 yet a bottle of rum can run you $6. What do you drink more of? There is an entire post dedicated to grocery pricing here: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=2510

If you’ve ever been to Manhattan it’s that plus some. So if you’re moving here from cowland get ready for some high costs, probably 35%-45% more cost of living. I personally would have at least a half a years salary in hand if you intend on moving here. But we know a lot of folks who came on a plane fair

2. How much is rent? Where do you want to live? How many bedrooms? Pets? All this comes into play. Expect higher rents than the states for sure. You can rent a small studio for about $900/month and then it goes up from there. But Electricity will run you 3 times the cost of the states (currently at .32kw). And if gas prices rise so does the electricity as WAPA (Water and Power Authority) makes electricity from gas here

Oh and most rentals aren’t exactly legal. What’s that mean? It means they’ve added extra apartments where one was so you may or may not be on a shared electric meter. You’ll have to work that out with the landlord. I always tell people to pay per square foot if you’re on a shared meter.

Here are some rough rental costs:

Studio: $800-$1200

1 Bedroom: $1000-$1600

2 Bedroom: $1200-$2000

3 Bedroom: $2400-$5500

4 Bedroom: $3500-$6000

Contact our friend and realtor Karen Korsgren for all your buying, selling, rental needs: http://www.buysellvi.com.

Here’s a couple of other places to look: http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/, http://stthomassource.com/

3. Employment! Tourism and government is the only industries we really have here in St. Thomas. So if you’re looking for a job in the bar, restaurant, hotel, boating and general tourism industry you will be able to find a job. And if you’re actually reliable you’ll be able to keep it. The pay here is low. Lower than most states so if you get a job say at an insurance agency you’ll probably make less and pay more for everything else. You want to live on an island? That’s the price

Here’s a couple of other places to look: http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/, http://stthomassource.com/

4. Buying or Building? Will you be buying or building? Right now building is VERY expensive. I’ve been told by builders that a yard of concrete sells for $2000, yikes! And get ready to throw your budget out the window because it will be more than planned guaranteed. Oh and add 4-6 months on to the projected deliverable if you’re lucky If you think building is a headache in the states then don’t build because it will be 10 times worse here.

Buying works the same way as the states with the exception of what they call a stamp tax. Transactions in the US Virgin Islands require 2% to 3.5% government transfer tax or stamp tax. All property transactions over $350,000 require a mandatory 2.5% stamp tax. You can negotiate this with the seller. In a down market a buyer can usually get a seller to pay it but in a good market…

The US Virgin Islands,which include St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix and Water Island, are unincorporated territory of the United States. Thus, purchasing property in any of these islands grants you the same guarantees and Constitutional protections and rights that you would have in anywhere in the United States.

Things to consider:

a. Cistern – A cistern is how you get your water supply. Our gutters on our roof catch the rain and then funnel it down into a holding tank. So if it doesn’t rain for a while you will run out of water. Water costs run me $340 for 5300 gallons and we have two 10,000 gallon water tanks so you do the math. We have a complete micron, charcoal and UV light water filtration system which cost around $1500.

b. Electricity – We pay 3 times the average cost in the states or about .34kw. But be forewarned our system in the US Virgin Islands generates electricity from gas. So when gas goes up so does your electric bill. Two years ago when gas hit $5/gallon our rates were .52kw.

c. Insurance – Hurricane insurance is ridiculously expensive! For $500,000 replacement fee expect to pay $14,000/year or so. Replacement fee is what it would costs to replace whatever was broken/missing but not exactly what a builder may charge you at the time of repair. That’s where the insurance company can really stick it to you. It may suddenly be a lot more money in labor/materials after a hurricane We use Tunick Insurance at: 340-776-7000.

5. Pets We have 2 parrots and bring them to and from St. Thomas every year. You can bring them on Delta or Continental as a carry-on. We need to get a health certificate from our vet within 7 days of travel. I’m not sure about other pets but I know you can bring them with no worries, check with your airline for that info. Do to public health and environmental concerns importing pet snakes into the territory is not allowed.

There are some places that will allow you to rent with a pet. I’m not sure of them but contact our friend and realtor Karen Korsgren for all your buying, selling, rental needs: http://www.buysellvi.com.

6. Crime Don’t go looking for it and it probably won’t find you. Yes we have a high murder rate but chances are it’s one bad guy killing another. It’s very rare that you hear of an innocent person being murdered but it happens… If you go looking for drugs you’ll put yourself in a bad position. If you’re walking around drunk in a bad neighborhood you’ll put yourself in a bad position. Be street-smart and know your surroundings and you’ll be fine.

7. Cars and License! Buying a car in St. Thomas is expensive. They know they got you by the short hairs because of the cost to ship it here. So cars are typically 15%-25% more to buy. That said if you own a nice car it may be worth it to ship it here.

It can cost around $1000-$1500 to ship a car from Miami. Check out Tropical shipping at: http://www.tropical.com/external/en/.

St. Thomas is basically one extremely curvy, giant hill. I strongly recommend a 4 wheel drive vehicle here especially when it rains. Expect to replace brakes twice a year and transmissions also get pretty roughed up. Oh and our roads are full of potholes that usually go unfixed or fixed wrongly so they re-appear

Things to consider:

a. Can you get parts for your car if you bring it here and can someone fix it? I brought my Infinity QX4 here and there is literally only 1 guy that can fix major things on it. Things like regular maintenance, brakes etc. are no problem. We have most major dealers here like Ford, Honda and Toyota.

b. You’ll need a VI license plate for your car. Your stateside license will not work here.

c. You’ll have to clear customs. You can call the Customs Office at (340) 714-1600 for more information.

d. You’ll need the title to your car.

e. Road tax: You must get a Bill of Lading from the shipping agent when the car arrives in the USVI. For more information call Internal Revenue office at (340) 714-9332.

f. Insurance is required in St. Thomas. You must get your vehicle insured before requesting a moving permit. We use Tunick Insurance at: 340-776-7000.

g. You’ll need a permit to move your car: Go to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to get a permit to move your vehicle from the dock. The permit allows you to move a non-registered vehicle from one point to another.

h. Take your vehicle to the DMV to get your vehicle inspected. Bring with you, receipt that you paid the road tax, title, proof of insurance and stateside driver’s license.

i. How to obtain a VI drivers License, click here: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=1682

8. Motorcycles & Bikes: Bringing one or buying a motorcycle is the same as the car above. Here’s the deal, the roads here are pretty bad. All windy and up and down hills. You can’t get over 40mph in most spots. The rain makes things doubly worse. People drive like complete idiots here with safari taxi’s stopping and letting out tourists in the middle of the roads. That said I think owning a motorcycle or standard bike is crazy here. But to each their own

9. Education: I’m pretty unfamiliar with the public school system here. Everyone I personally know sends their kids to private schools: http://www.antilles.vi/ and http://www.vimsia.org/ to name a few.

10. Health Care:Not good enough. Period. It’s getting better. Talk to any doctor or nurse from the states and they’ll openly tell you it’s not good. Anything serious and I would leave the island for the states. We have the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital: http://www.rlshospital.org/. We have many primary doctors and facilities.

Again make sure to read Moving To St. Thomas Part 1 and Moving To St. Thomas Part 2 and Moving To St. Thomas US Virgin Islands – Everything You Need To Know.

Hope this helps and remember most of this is just my experiences and opinion

Before you comment or ask a question please read ALL THE COMMENTS as the answer is probably already there.

Yup, it’s our villa and this is shameless self promotion. Go to our website: http://www.caretbay.com and check it out.  It normally rents for $9,950 for either of those weeks but if you email me at scott@stthomasblog.com and use the code “Big Special” you’ll get 15% off or $1,500. That’s not chump change you know. So hurry and rent this St. Thomas Villa now.

Here are some pictures to look at in the meantime.

The economy is still brutal in the states and it hasn’t changed that much in St. Thomas. St. Thomas real estate is abundant and I’m sure there are some great deals to be had. I know when we bought we waited until the top of the market so I’m sure our house has lost some equity. So if you’re in the market to purchase some St. Thomas real estate now may be the time to strike.

You have to ask yourself what your needs are? Do you want to live on the water (like Nicci and I), if so prepare for everything to rust away. Once that salt water spray gets inside your electronics it’s game over. Do you want a house or a condo? A condo is nice if it’s a second home as you won’t have to do any maintenance.

What side of St. Thomas do you want to live on? The East end is much hotter and drier than the North side. This makes a difference when it comes to keeping water in your cistern full. Water can run you 5-7 cents a gallon depending on where you get it from. We have two 10,000 gallon tanks, so you do the math.

There are a lot of St. Thomas real estate agents to choose from. We fortunately are friendly with a lot of them so if you have questions send us an email.

St. Thomas is a great place to live and work but it is more expensive than a typical US city. Think Manhattan type prices for most items. Remember you live on an island!  And make sure to check out our moving tips section of the website as it has a ton of information. Good luck and happy home-buying.

Have you seen our Tees and Tanks? Click here to check them out and order: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?page_id=2821, help support the St. Thomas Blog:

Click here to order:  http://www.stthomasblog.com/?page_id=2821

Facebook is a social network. It’s a place to meet and communicate. IT’S NOT A PLACE TO SPAM YOUR BUSINESS. A lot of people don’t know that, especially businesses trying to promote themselves. You first have to introduce yourself and open a line of communication. Then you’ll spark the interest of the person you’re trying to reach.

This morning I got a chat message from a stranger called Joe Blaster at Radio 106.1because he “friended” me on facebook. Here’s how he opened the conversation:

Joe

RADIO JOE 106.1 FM …THE NEW RADIO STATION IN THE CARIBBEAN !!!

First off EVERYONE knows in the US Virgin Islands it’s a big time no no not to say Good Morning, Good afternoon or Good night before you say ANYTHING. He should know this given the market he’s in.  Secondly why would I listen to him? He’s shown no interest in me? He’s just screaming his message at me, all in caps. I don’t even know what type of music they play?

Here’s the rest of the conversation:

Scott

dude or dudet, why do you just spam?

Joe

WHAT ?

I am just letting you know, have a problem ?

Scott

yea, all you do is promote yourself by spamming others. try communicating first like a real human, then maybe I’ll listen and promote you. maybe introduce yourself? You know, non spam stuff.

Joe

i dont need to introduce myself, this is facebook and its for promoting. this is a social network. have a nice day.  RADIO JOE 106.1 FM. THE BEST MUSIC ON YOUR RADIO , BYE.

-Huh? What happened to the word Social in Social Network? It’s not called a spam network.

Joe

AND IF YOU HAVE A BLOG YOU SHOULD DO THE SAME THING, SPRAD THE WORD IS FREE DUDE !!! SPREAD IT

-Yea dude, we spread the word by creating a real interest. I didn’t run around St. Thomas yelling at strangers. We wrote intersting articles and gained readership through natural word of mouth. Call me crazy

Moral of the story…Social networks like facebook and twitter make it easy to communicate. But do it right by showing a real interest in the person you’re reaching out to. You’ll not only gain a customer you’ll also gain a friend.

Radio Joe has been defriended. How did that work out for him?

Our advertisers get a lot of hits to their websites. On average we get over 2200 visits per day and we’re hungry for another advertiser. It ain’t easy writing stories almost everyday. C’mon now, you know you want to be on the most popular blog on St. Thomas.

Or you can support us by buying one of these great t-shirts/tank tops (click here): http://www.stthomasblog.com/?page_id=2821.

Pick up that coconut and start the telegraph.

I’ve got 2 spots on the blog for our $89/month plan. You’ll get one of those nice squares on the left or right with your logo or picture that leads right to your website or facebook page. They look like this:

Caribbean Saloon – Click The Photo For Live Music, Sports And Events

Before I begin spewing off stuff, I must say I’m not a mortgage expert. I may or may not be correct in what I’m about to say. Don’t shoot the messenger

Getting a mortgage in St. Thomas is a lot harder than it used to be. The banks are running scared so any little thing they see wrong might cause your loan to go south. You can use a local bank like Scotia Bank or First Bank or a stateside bank like First Liberty out of Connecticut/St. Thomas.

Here are my thoughts. The local banks are slow, like a turtle. Their rates seem to be much higher and they charge for an application.

Now I’ve personally worked with Rick O’Bymachow at First Liberty. He clearly had the very best interest rates and his follow through is OUTSTANDING. He did the original purchase and most recently my refinance. I can’t say it enough, he was awesome.

I’m pretty sure you’ll need 20% down in St. Thomas but I may be wrong. I know there are FHA loans out there for 3.5% down but I’m not sure you can do that in St. Thomas, ask Rick.

Here is Rick’s info:

FIRST LIBERTY MORTGAGE COMPANY, LLC 

    5 Commandant Gade  - 180 West Main Street

St. Thomas, USVI  00802 - Clinton, CT  06413 

      340-774-1101                                860-664-1855

Website: http://www.firstlib.com/index.html