SELLING PROPERTY ON ST. CROIX

Thank you for the opportunity to show you how we can assist you with your sale. You will receive the best quality service from Team San Martin. We have put together a state-of-the-art real estate practice with a team of top quality professionals who are available to service your real estate needs in every capacity needed.  Click here to see what our clients and customers say about us. We will go over, in person, all the following information to enable you to sell your St. Croix property for the best price, in the shortest amount of time with the fewest hassles!

The Basics

What you get:

Honesty and clarity right from the start.  RE/MAX St. Croix’s  Exclusive Right to Sell contract establishes you as our Client. If a Buyer is brought to your property by any other Real Estate Brokerage, we are simply your agent.  We represent you unless someone in our office has a Buyer Client who wants to purchase your property.  In that case we must act as Transaction Brokers and are not a fiduciary of any party, but we will work to bring the Seller and Buyer together and close the sale.   In all cases we will abide by Virgin Islands law and by the National Association of Realtors Code of Ethics, as well as endeavor to be fair to all parties.

 With your permission your property will be listed on the Virgin Islands Territorial Association’s Multiple Listing System; advertized in selected periodicals, Realtor.com and with numerous RE/MAX International affiliates ( RE/MAX is the number one recognized Real Estate brand in he World).

 Team San Martin has 4 unique and well placed websites that not only make it easy for prospective Buyers to view your property, but provide a wide range of information of interest to Buyers. Go to Google and search for St. Croix Real Estate and see what we mean.

 Our Team actually works as a Team.  So if one member is unavailable to show your property another Teammate will step in to do the job.

What you need to do:

Pick your agent and enter into an Exclusive Right to Sell contract.  This will protect you as well as your agent and other agents will know that they will be compensated if they bring their prospective buyers to your property and sell it.

 Pick an Attorney.  As a Seller you will have to provide a Deed, or Title at closing.  This document is usually prepared by your Attorney so that it will be in a legally acceptable form.  Your Attorney will also represent you at closing and make sure that there are no issues that come back to you, or adversely affect you. If you like, Team San Martin will provide a list of Attorneys that we have had good experience with in Real Estate.  Team San Martin has no business connection with any of these professionals and receives no compensation, nor preference from any of them.  They will represent only you.

What you really should do:

Gather whatever documents you have from the purchase of your property; site plans, as-built drawings, covenants and restrictions, etc.  Your agent should make a copy of pertinent documents for his/her use. A recent appraisal can inspire confidence in prospective Buyers.

Spruce up your property.  If it is raw land, you might want to clear enough to get a nice view.  Houses and condos benefit from simply a good cleanup.  A little pretty can mean a lot of value.  The same applies for the sale of a business.

In the case of a business, you should have a income and expense report, which will only be available to those prospects who sign a non-disclosure agreement. If you rent out your condo or your home, or an apartment in your home you should also have an income and expense report available to prospective Buyers.  Mortgage lenders will count as income towards paying the mortgage any current long term rent amounts.  They will not consider vacant units.

Discuss Seller financing with your agent and Attorney and financial adviser. This type of sale is more attractive with raw land than with a home or condo which can be easily mistreated, but in difficult times it may be practical. Typically, a Seller may finance the purchase of a home or condo if there is a large down payment (20-30%), the interest rate is as high as is legal, and the term is for no more than 3 years.

What you need to know:

Deed and Mortgage is the most common way to sell property in the USVI.  The Seller gives title to the Buyer and the Buyer pledges security to pay the lender.  If you are doing Seller financing you should consult your Attorney as to the risks involve, and possible alternate ways to transfer title.

1031 Exchanges have been done here.  If you are the Seller you don’t pay anything in this process, but you will have to agree to sell your property to a third party ( A 1031 Exchange company).  In most cases you will not be involved in a 1031, but you should be aware of it’s existence and the fact that the Buyer has a limited time to chose a property, complete the paperwork and close.

If you list your property far above it’s market value, it may not appraise, in which case the sale may not close.  Team San Martin will do a Broker’s price opinion, but you may also want an Appraiser to value your property ahead of the sale.

Selling land in the US Virgin Islands is similar to selling land in the States, with the exception that the Buyer usually ask the Seller to have the boundaries flagged, i.e. having a licensed Surveyor locate the corners and mark them.  In some cases where the terrain is very difficult or too overgrown, it may be practical to only locate the boundposts nearest to a road.  Flagging boundposts saves a lot of grief at closings about what was shown and what the Buyer saw.  The Buyer will have had a set period of time to view the boundposts and accept the property.

As a Virgin Islands land owner, you already know about boundposts, public works drawings (PWD's), plot numbers and Estate names.  However, to new Buyers this is all a bit confusing.  At Team San Martin we try to have a copy of the PWD as well as an overview map showing the subdivision and how to get to it.  We also often provide a Google Earth image to better explain the property.

Sometimes we will recommend clearing enough of the land to get a view, which is an important selling point in most transactions.  This usually involves only hand cutting, not heavy equipment.

The Offer to Purchase

All offers must be in writing, signed and dated, and they must be accompanied by an earnest money deposit. A check is often acceptable. This deposit is refundable if the Seller turns down the offer, or if the sale fails to close through no fault of the Buyer ( a good reason for a Buyer to have an Attorney).  If the Seller counters the offer, it is a new game.  The Buyer can accept in writing, counter-counter in writing, or walk away with his/her deposit. Earnest money deposits are  kept in a non-interest bearing escrow account with one of the Brokers, or with one of the Attorneys.   Sometimes during negotiations, a verbal offer may be conveyed and accepted verbally. You can’t rely on a verbal offer, nor verbal acceptance. 

Closing

Closings on St. Croix often take 60 to 90 days, especially around Christmas time when Government workers who process Deeds and such are on holiday, or catching up after a holiday.

We do not recommend traveling to St. Croix to make a closing date unless you were planning to be here anyway. Closings are often postponed at the very last minute for a number of reasons.  We recommend letting your Attorney handle the closing.  Please bear in mind that Attorneys for Banks and other lenders are not representing you.

If you are a Foreign National your Attorney may have to withhold 10% of the Gross Sales price for Capital Gains, unless you obtain a certificate of exemption.  Please consult your Attorney if you are not an American Citizen.

Attorneys, Lenders, Inspectors, Surveyors

At your request Team San Martin  will provide you with a list of professionals with whom we have experience.  We have no business connection with any of them, and recommend that you shop around for the best service at the best price.

Typically, the Buyer and the Lender will have his own inspectors and surveyors enter your property, with your permission, for the purpose of creating their reports.  Team San Martin can have an agent available to be on the premises or to allow access to the interior, or you can take care of that yourself.

WAPA

If you are selling a home or condo on St. Croix, you probably know how difficult and time consuming it is to get electrical power restored after an account has been closed.  For this reason in RE/MAX St. Croix’s Offer to Purchase form we have language asking you, the Seller, to keep the power on until closing so that the Buyer doesn’t go without for any length of time.

Selling Land

Selling land in the US Virgin Islands is similar to selling land in the States, with the exception that the Buyer usually ask the Seller to have the boundaries flagged, i.e. having a licensed Surveyor locate the corners and mark them.  In some cases where the terrain is very difficult or too overgrown, it may be practical to only locate the boundposts nearest to a road.  Flagging boundposts saves a lot of grief at closings about what was shown and what the Buyer saw.  The Buyer will have had a set period of time to view the boundposts and accept the property.

As a Virgin Islands land owner, you already know about boundposts, public works drawings (PWD's), plot numbers and Estate names.  However, to new Buyers this is all a bit confusing.  At Team San Martin we try to have a copy of the PWD as well as an overview map showing the subdivision and how to get to it.  We also often provide a Google Earth image to better explain the property.

Sometimes we will recommend clearing enough of the land to get a view, which is an important selling point in most transactions.  This usually involves only hand cutting, not heavy equipment.  If you do decide to use or hire heavy equipment, make sure you have an Earth Change permit from the Department of Planning and Natural Resources.